


NathMarc November 2020

by caelestislux



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Akuma Attack, Akumatized Marc Anciel, Akumatized Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dorian Gray Fusion, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Autumn, Awkward Romance, Bisexual Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Canon Related, Coming Out, Confessions, Conventions, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Gay Marc Anciel, Getting Together, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Marc Anciel Has an Anxiety Disorder, Nathaniel Kurtzberg Has ADHD, Nathmarc November, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Photographs, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Fluff, Secret Crush, Studying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 40,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caelestislux/pseuds/caelestislux
Summary: A compilation of my NathMarc November 2020 oneshots.All prompts credit to ASingleRaindrop
Relationships: Marc Anciel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 97
Kudos: 60
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	1. Day 1 - Favorite Color (Purple)

“Agh, I could use a new set of markers.” 

Marc glanced over at his best friend, curious at his sudden announcement. But just as he turned his head, Nathaniel quickly covered up whatever he was drawing with his arms. He stared Marc in the eye, almost daring him to try and look. Marc did not dare. Whatever it was that Nathaniel wanted to hide, he deserved his privacy.

Besides, they were in the art room. And Nathaniel, among many of the other artists in the room, liked to have his work completed before he would show it to other people. 

“What for?” Marc asked, leaning his arms against the table.

Nathaniel shrugged, juxtaposing with the strange and clear sense of panic on his face. “Um, I don’t have the right shade for something I’m trying to draw.” And when neither continued the conversation, he added, “I’m drawing Mightillustrator. For our comic.”

Now Marc was genuinely curious. It was totally fine that Nathaniel was drawing his character; that was the problem. If he was just drawing a picture for their comic, then why was he freaking out? The only unusual thing was that he was using markers instead of colored pencils as he usually did, so maybe he was just uncomfortable with how it was turning out since it wasn’t his usual art medium? Whenever Marc attempted to write poetry or something, he never liked to present how it turned out, as it was never up to his usual writing caliber. Was that it?

“Uh, okay. So why do you need a new one?” 

“Eh.” Nathaniel adjusted his posture, still keeping the drawing properly covered by his arms. “I can’t get his skin tone correctly. When I originally designed him, it was with colored pencils. But this drawing’s special, so I wanted to try markers. But . . .” He frowned. “Every purple I own is either too dark or not the right shade. It sucks though, since I don’t have any money budgeted for new art supplies this month.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry. That sounds irritating.” Marc honestly wasn’t quite sure what else to say . . . learning how to show sympathy to the person he was crushing on without being overbearing and letting his friend know that he was, in fact, crushing on him was ideal. But rather than fidget in silence, he just attempted a response of, “I hope you’re able to find a shade that’s close enough.”

“At least you understand.” Nathaniel grinned ruefully over at Marc, still covering the drawing with his arms but relaxing his shoulders a bit. “It’s fine, I’ll probably just bring my colored pencils tomorrow and use them.”

And that was the end of the conversation, both going back to their work.

But Marc didn’t forget. 

In fact, after the school day ended, he didn’t go straight home as he usually did. Instead, he went to the art supplies store that was just down the street from the school. Looking at the array of markers was dizzying. Marc didn’t know anything about art supplies, nor did he know anything about drawing in general, but he did know Nathaniel, and he didn’t like seeing the person he cared so much about being uncomfortable and agitated. And being able to finish the drawing the way he wanted seemed important to Nathaniel.

Eventually, Marc selected a pack of markers that was full of cool colors, including quite a few purple shades. He’d tried comparing the markers to pictures of Mightillustrator that Nathaniel had drawn before, but it was hard to tell, so he just made his best guess based on the caps. He’d recently made some extra cash from freelance writing too, so it wasn’t a huge expense or anything. 

The next day at school, Marc ran to meet Nathaniel at their usual spot on the stairs. When he caught up with his friend, he presented the pack of markers with a flourish.

“Marc!” Nathaniel exclaimed, expression both surprised and dubious. “You know you didn’t have to help! I was just venting to you.” But even as he spoke, he glanced over the colors listed on the package. “Thank you so much, though. This is perfect.”

Filled with the elation that often comes with gift-giving, Marc grinned. “I know I didn’t have to, but you seemed to really want to finish your drawing. And, uh, the thought to help just kinda came to me.”

“Well, I love it. I have to pay for your coffee now or something. Oh, we could go get coffee together! That’d be fun, now that they’ve got the holiday flavors.”

_Like a date?_

But even as Marc considered the possibility, he shut it down immediately, knowing full well that’s not what Nathaniel meant. So he just responded with, “No, you don’t owe me anything. We’re friends.”

Nathaniel laughed, his hair falling out of his face for once. “No, I’m definitely buying you a coffee. And I’m still giving you the picture when I’m done with it.”

“ _Still?_ I thought it was for the comic book.”

At that moment, Nathaniel’s body language shifted. He clasped his hands together, glancing anywhere but straight at Marc. “Um, yeah. But uh, I thought that you’d want to have like, the rough draft? But I can’t give it to you yet . . . I have to actually finish coloring.”

“Oh.” Marc paused. “Alright. But you don’t _have_ to give it to me.”

“No, I _really_ _have to._ ”

The first bell rang then, saving both boys from the conversation that had taken a sharply awkward tone. Marc headed to his class, though his mind was absolutely not on particle physics. In fact, all he could think about was Nathaniel and the mysterious drawing. 

Why was he so uncomfortable about it? 

And to make matters more complicated, when Marc arrived at the art room after school, Nathaniel was whispering something with Alix, shooting nervous glances at the door. Marc froze in the doorway, wondering if he did something that was accidentally offensive or socially unacceptable. 

“I-I can c-come back—”

“No!” Nathaniel exclaimed, nearly toppling the table in his hurry to stand up. “You’re fine. Sorry. I just have something to, uh, tell you.” After a quick pause, he added, “It’s not bad, I promise!”

Marc’s heart slowed again. Whenever people said that they had to ask or tell him something, it freaked him out, sending him spiralling into anxious thoughts. He was sincerely glad that he’d confided in Nathaniel about that, which prompted the artist to always clarify that it wasn’t something to worry about.

But . . . Nathaniel never got this nervous. At least, not around his friends.

“Um, okay.” After the initial surprise, Marc sat in his usual spot, right next to Nathaniel and at the table near Marinette. Nathaniel was fidgeting with something behind his back, but when Marc diverted his attention from that, he noted Marinette glancing over at the two with a sly smile. He shook his head quickly. _What was she thinking this was?_

“So, uh, I just have been thinking for a while, and I had something that I needed to confess to you.” Nathaniel began, inhaling sharply. “Uh, I know that we’ve been friends for a bit, and I really like being around you, so . . .”

Marc watched his expression, stymied by his preemptive clarification but still somehow nervous that Nathaniel was going to say he got a better writer or something. But no, his friend somehow seemed both uncomfortable, just as he had the day before, and something else. What was it?

_Hope?_

“I like you, Marc. Like, a lot. More than a friend.”

Marc blinked. 

His words didn’t seem real. Everything swam in Marc’s vision, hazy and unclear. 

“If that ruins our friendship, I’m so sorry.” Now Nathaniel was speaking quickly, his words stumbling over each other and blending together. “I just have been thinking about it for a while, and yeah, I felt like I needed to tell you—”

“I like you too, Nathaniel.” 

The haze cleared and now the two boys were staring at each other. Nathaniel’s expression hesitant, his bangs covering more of his face than usual. He continued to clutch whatever was behind his back, something rustling. Marc twisted his gloves in his hands.

“Really?” Nathaniel’s voice was faint.

“Yeah.”

And with that, the two fell silent again.

“Just give him the damn picture!” Alix called from the other side of the table. Marc became vaguely aware of the fact that the whole art room had gone silent, the teacher included, probably all watching them. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when the person he’d liked for so long was confessing _right here, right now._

Wordlessly, Nathaniel moved his hand from behind his back and held out a piece of paper. And Marc took it equally silently, as if talking would cause the moment to break and the whole situation to become just a dream that would fade away.

And when he looked down at the paper in his hands, a jolt ran through his heart.

It was Reverser and Mightillustrator. Together. Not just together in being part of the same team, as their comics before had featured the two, but together in that they were _close_. Mightillustrator pressed a light kiss to Reverser’s cheek, who in turn glanced to the side, blushing with a little grin forming on his lips. The two were also embracing tightly. The whole thing was brilliantly colored in marker, the black and white on Reverser even looking vibrant despite being in monochrome. And not only did Mightillustrator look breathtaking as always, his skin tone was perfectly fitting.

“That’s from the markers you got me.” Nathaniel murmured, pointing out that particular shade of purple that fit so well. “This is what I was working on yesterday; I wanted to make it perfect. Um, I hope it’s okay . . .”

 _It was absolutely perfect, Marc couldn’t believe that this was even real and actually happening_ —

Marc grinned. He was _so_ thankful he’d gotten Nathaniel those markers, as no matter what happened to the two boys’ relationship from then on, he knew that he would always treasure the drawing. He hadn’t fully processed that _his crush_ was _confessing_ to _him_ , but every time he looked down at the picture in his hand, there was no other explanation, it had to be real.

“I love it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can never find the right marker or colored pencil for Evillustrator's skin tone, so I'd assume that Nathaniel would have the same issue. Though I'm not sure how Marc magically got the right one, lol.


	2. Day 2 - Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine this would take place not too long after the events of Reverser.

Marc was sick.

Not with anything that could be diagnosed by a doctor, anyway. But whenever he was around his best friend, his heart would grow heavy and his head would pound. His entire form would shake if it was a particularly bad day. 

_Lovesick._

Having a crush had been kind of a whirlwind at first. Watching the cute artist that he’d seen the drawings of online from a distance was harmless enough. Actually getting to know him was overwhelming, and now that they were friends and slowly growing closer, Marc’s heart threatened to plummet every time they met up. Like it was getting harder and harder to find air. 

He couldn’t just say the words, though. There was absolutely no way that his feelings would be reciprocated. And what if Nathaniel thought Marc was weird for liking him? He knew his friend was bisexual and fairly open about it, but there was a difference between liking guys and being okay with his best friend madly crushing on him. Marc didn’t want to ruin a friendship that he’d worked hard for over something like this.

He didn’t resent Nathaniel at all for the way he’d lashed out that one time in the park as there had just been miscommunication, and he’d apologized repeatedly and profusely, making up for it any way he could. Still, the fact that it happened still sent Marc’s anxiety running wild from time to time. He didn’t want it to be a situation where Nathaniel was just expecting friendship and if Marc proposed something else, Nathaniel would freak out. He _knew_ it was probably ridiculous to think that, but his mind didn’t let the thought go. 

So he resigned himself to feeling sick to his stomach whenever he was around his friend, wishing that he could find the ability to spill his feelings and yet knowing that it would never work, that he’d never find the opportunity. 

Having a crush combined with anxiety was slowly hurting more and more every day.

How was Nathaniel not noticing? Well, he _noticed_ , always asking Marc if he was doing alright or if he needed to take a break. But Marc didn’t know how to answer that. 

And then one day, it all peaked.

Marc watched Nathaniel sketch out a cover for their first comic book. He’d already done most of the page, just leaving the foreground, and now the sharp lines and angles implied that he was drawing Reverser first. He was pretty good at drawing Reverser too, Marc decided, since it didn’t seem like the hood and geometric design would be easy to replicate. Marc had his notebook sitting in front of him, but he couldn’t finish the scene. It was supposed to be a triumphant scene where Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Mightillustrator finally purified the akuma and saved Reverser from being a villain, turning him into a hero and part of their team, but the writing just didn’t feel right. It didn’t help that Marc’s heart was starting to pick up its pace, overwhelming him.

Marc sighed, reclining back in his chair.

“Are you okay?” Nathaniel asked, tearing his gaze away from his drawing to make eye contact with Marc. He’d pinned his bangs back slightly to focus on the cover, but now he was looking at Marc with both his eyes visible, and for some reason that made the whole atmosphere a lot more serious. 

Marc nodded, biting his lip. _He was fine, he was fine, he was fine—_

But instead of going back to his work as he had before, Nathaniel tilted his head curiously and continued, “You seem . . . stressed. Did you want to come back to that scene?” Some kind of recognition dawned on his face. “Or is something wrong? Like, besides comic book stuff?”

“No, nothing!” Marc gestured with his hands as if that would help prove it. “Really, I’m just tired, I think.” But even as he spoke, he felt like he was betraying himself, hiding his actual feelings. 

“Oh. Okay.” 

But Nathaniel cast him an uncertain glance before returning back to the comic book cover. He’d almost finished sketching Reverser by this point, with the akuma-turned-hero nearly coming to life beneath the light sketches. It was going to look fantastic when it was done; anything Nathaniel created did. 

Reverser’s expression was so certain and confident. Marc could hardly believe that the new hero was based on someone he had once been, someone equally bold. He couldn’t imagine being that sure of himself. He knew he _had_ , but only when akumatized. Could he replicate that?

_“Actually, there is something!”_

Marc wanted to remove those words from existence the minute they left his lips. Why had he spoken up? Because he wanted to do exactly what he was afraid of? Yeah, right. This wasn’t going to go well.

Nathaniel turned back to him, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah? Is everything okay?”

This was going to be the end of their friendship. Marc just knew it. Nathaniel still liked Ladybug, and if Marc were to share his feelings and destroy their already-tenuous friendship, he couldn't imagine just how much everything would change.

He knew he could’ve just made up some kind of false answer. But in his mind, it was already too late.

“Yes. No. I mean . . .” Marc sighed again, burying his face in his arms. “I have a crush on you.”

And then the gut-wrenching sound of Nathaniel’s chair scraping against the ground.

 _He was running away. He didn’t want to even be around Marc anymore, not after learning that his friend thought of him that way. He was going now, and soon Marc would hear the door slam_ —

A hand gently rested on his shoulder.

Marc glanced up, only to see Nathaniel’s slightly worried smile.

“That’s what’s bothering you?” Even as he spoke, he reached out his other hand and when Marc took it, helped him to his feet. “Agh, I should’ve talked to you earlier. I’m so bad at this.”

“Um . . .” Marc pulled his hood over his head, nearly covering his eyes. But his burning cheeks were very visible still, and he was hyperaware of that fact. Could this possibly get more awkward? “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be sorry, it’s my fault again! I honestly thought you were sick or something, and I didn’t want to pry, but—” Nathaniel slowed down, pausing to take a breath. “I like you too! I should’ve said something before, but I wasn’t thin—”

“Wait, you _what?_ ”

“Like you too! More than friends.”

Marc cast an unsure glance to the side. “Um, but don’t you like Ladybug?”

Unable to hide a laugh, Nathaniel grinned, cheeks stained slightly red. “Marc, there’s a difference between an attractive person that I regard as an unattainable celebrity crush,” he motioned to one of his drawings of Ladybug and Chat Noir, “and my wonderful best friend who I find very attractive as well, someone that forgave me when I really messed up during our first meeting, someone that inspires me every day, someone that I’d very much like to go out with . . . if you want.”

“D-d-don’t steal my brand, Nath!” Marc attempted, even though his voice came out shaky and stuttering. “I’m the w-writer. I’m s-supposed to be the poetic one.” 

And before either of them could add something else to the conversation, Marc felt his friend embrace him, wrapping his arms around Marc’s shoulders and pulling the two of them together. Marc’s heart rate decreased rapidly, his energy fading as it’d been exhausting to pretend his feelings didn’t exist for so long. He could feel Nathaniel’s heartbeat doing the reverse, picking up pace. And he didn’t blame him. If he wasn’t so drained, he would’ve been ecstatic at being so close to the person that he really liked.

“I’d love to go out with you.” Marc murmured, not even sure if his friend heard him despite their close proximity. “I really would.”

Nathaniel reached for Marc’s hand and held tight. “It’s a date, then?”

Unable to keep from grinning, Marc nodded.

He’d expected to feel rejected for revealing his feelings.

But all he could feel was free.


	3. Day 3 - Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't totally sure what to do for this one, so hopefully it makes sense!

Nathaniel stood in front of Marc’s house, running things to say through his mind as he waited the last couple moments. He was running a little late, not terribly, but enough that he already felt badly. And now he was going to make a complete fool of himself in front of his friend, his _boyfriend._

Waiting for a first date to begin was like torture. 

And it wasn’t even like it was going to be something the two didn’t already do. They’d gone to a cafe and gotten coffee before. Except instead of getting a couple cups of plain coffee with maybe some sugar packets and working hard at their comic book, they were going to get pastries too, and just talk for a couple hours or however long they could manage to make this not awkward. Nathaniel already felt a strange sense of juxtaposition in that he was doing something kind of normal with a friend, yet also going on his first date with his boyfriend at the same time. It didn’t help that he was dressed up a bit, wearing dark jeans and his usual blazer with a tastefully paint-splattered t-shirt, his bangs pinned back with some clips.

Nathaniel checked his phone again. Marc hadn’t responded to his most recent text, which probably meant he was on his way. 

And sure enough, within the minute, Marc opened the door. He too was dressed up, wearing skinny jeans with a black cardigan over a red shirt with a sheer rainbow scarf. He also wore the fingerless gloves he always wore, and he kept fidgeting with them as he walked to join Nathaniel at his stoop.

They stood in silence for a moment, sneaking glances at each other. Or maybe that was just Nathaniel. But Marc really did look incredible. Now with their close proximity, his glossy purple eyeshadow and light lip gloss were visible, and it absolutely added a certain vibe to Marc’s whole appearance. 

Nathaniel glanced downwards, his cheeks growing hot. He couldn’t believe it had taken him so long to realize that he liked Marc more than just platonically. “Just friends” didn’t feel the way Nathaniel did about his comic book partner.

“I like your shirt.” Marc spoke up, catching Nathaniel’s attention. 

“Thanks, it’s homemade.”

Marc grinned, hiding a laugh behind his hand. His cheeks were stained with bright red, just as Nathaniel’s must’ve been, which was almost comforting. The fact that they were both feeling awkward made the whole thing less awkward, right?

“Should we go, then?” Nathaniel motioned to the street they’d have to take to get out of there. Marc nodded, and together the two of them made their way through the street and into the open city. 

This was _super_ awkward, just as he’d expected. They weren’t walking that closely, close enough that they were clearly going somewhere together, but far enough that they weren’t touching at all. Impulsively, Nathaniel reached down and grabbed Marc’s hand, the leather of the writer’s glove cool against the palm of his hand. Marc glanced up, first surprised, then his lips formed a small smile.

When they arrived at the cafe, Nathaniel quickly dropped his boyfriend’s hand to open the door for him. They’d been here so many times before, and he’d never held the door for Marc before . . . was he trying too hard to be overly polite? He’d never been on a date before. Well, ignoring the date that he’d gone on as the Evillustrator, but that didn’t count. At least Evillustrator seemed to know how to be charming and romantic, unlike Nathaniel himself.

“Thank you.” Marc quickly ducked through the doorway, face still crimson.

They made their way to the counter and placed their orders, a little bit more than they usually did. Cappuccinos and crêpes were a lot more fancy than black coffee and Marc’s necessary sugar and creamer. 

Once they’d sat down next to each other at one of the tables in the back, it wasn’t evident at first, but Nathaniel soon realized that he was very desperately avoiding eye contact. And maybe Marc was too. 

“So,” Nathaniel began, digging for his phone to avoid the obvious tension. “Um, did you see the reviews for our latest comic?”

“No, not yet.” Marc replied, pausing a minute before continuing. “Honestly I was kind of worried about the latest reviews . . . I know as a published writer you’re supposed to be good at taking criticism, but an editor’s totally different than . . . you know.”

“I know, I was worried too. But . . .” Nathaniel moved his phone so Marc could look over his shoulder. Their latest comic had taken the internet by storm in regard to the now-canon relationship between Mightillustrator and Reverser, which had been written mere hours after Nathaniel and Marc had gotten together. “The reviews are pretty good. A lot of people think we’ve got great LGBT+ representation.”

“Aw. So no one’s mad that we switched love interests for Mightillustrator?”

“Haha, no. People are saying that they already shipped him with Reverser, so they’re not upset. And people are definitely starting to suspect that they’re based on our relationship.” He scrolled to show Marc one review in particular that claimed they just _knew_ that the author and illustrator of the comics were dating. “Should I tell them we’re on our first date right now?”

“Yeah, share that online and then log off for a few hours, see if everyone freaks out.” Marc offered, sipping his coffee. “You’ll have a lot of replies to answer later.”

“Then I’ll wait. Don’t want to get distracted from the reason we’re actually here.” But even as he said it, he realized that calling attention to the fact that they were indeed on a date just brought the tension back. So instead of embarrassing himself any further, he just tried his coffee. “Wow. That’s really sugary.”

“Yeah, cappuccinos are pretty sweet.” Marc said, sipping his own. 

“Um, just like you?”

Marc froze, the cup at his lips, eyes widening. 

Mentally kicking himself, Nathaniel wished he hadn’t said anything. Did he sound stupid? Was that too much for just beginning a relationship? He didn’t know how to act on a first date, much less in a relationship! And Marc was so shy, he didn’t want to make him feel like he was put on the spot. And this train of thought continued until he saw the writer’s soft smile.

Without even taking a drink, Marc placed the cup back on the saucer. “Ah, thank you! Sorry I froze, I just, uh, didn’t expect compliments like that yet . . . I’m really not good with this kind of thing . . .”

“No, no! You’re fine! But I did mean it. You’re very sweet.”

Marc cast his gaze over, his hair falling out of his face and making his jade green eyes visible. That, as well as his quiet smile. “Thank you . . . you are too. And, um, I’m really glad that you wanted to go on a date with me . . . and for us to be together . . .”

“Of course! Thank you too. For the same thing, I mean.”

Marc nodded and attempted a flustered laugh even though his face was flushed. Nathaniel was sure he didn’t look much better, but he just joined his boyfriend in laughing and grinning. He was honestly just glad that his first attempt at a romantic gesture wasn’t terrible. Maybe their first date wasn’t the picture-perfect, comfortable outing that others seemed to have, but that didn’t really matter to Nathaniel. All that mattered to him at the moment was Marc himself, the person that he’d wanted to be with for so long, the first person who’d fully reciprocated his feelings, one of the sweetest and kindest people he’d ever met. And with any luck, they’d have plenty more dates where he could make more dorky compliments to the person who definitely deserved them.

Before they returned back to their coffees and crêpes, Nathaniel carefully placed an arm around the writer’s shoulders. “Is this okay?”

Marc settled back against his arm, smiling. “It’s perfect.”


	4. Day 4 - Music

Marc glanced up into the darkness, watching the night sky roll past.

It was pretty, even masked by the glow of the City of Lights. Clouds shifted above, several barely touching the moon but not nearly enough to disguise the soft moonlight that shone down upon him and his date.

His _date._

It was so strange to think of him in that regard at the moment, all things considered. 

When Nathaniel hadn’t shown up to lunch that day, it wasn’t too unusual, since the artist sometimes liked to run home or eat with some of his friends instead. Since Alix was with Max and Kim, though, Marc just assumed that Nathaniel had headed home for the lunch period. But what was weird was when Nathaniel didn’t show up to the art club that afternoon. And that’s when Alix saw he was alone and dropped the bomb: that Nathaniel had gotten into trouble for drawing during class again, and when he left to go to Mr. Damocles’ office, he never came back. And then there was a rumor about an argument in the hallway . . .

Marc didn’t immediately assume that his friend had been akumatized, as maybe he was just upset over the incident and needed a break, but Alix was sure of it. Since Nathaniel didn’t seem like he was going to show up to the art club that day, Marc just left. Though not without Alix warning him about a possible akuma attack.

He hadn’t taken the possibility seriously until an akuma showed up at his house.

Really, he could’ve seen the signs. When Nathaniel hadn’t answered Marc’s worried texts, when Alix was so nervous for her friend, when the city was strangely quiet and empty . . . it all just made sense that there was an akuma. But Marc hadn’t confronted the possibility that it was Nathaniel.

But when the door to his room erased with a flourish, Marc had to face the facts.

“Marc!” The Evillustrator, just as Marc had seen him in drawings and videos, rushed forward, falling to one knee and holding something in front of him . . . a bouquet of roses? “I didn’t believe a word she said about you.”

The look on his face was desperate, hopeful, his eyes widened.

_What was happening?_

Marinette had told Marc a bit about Nathaniel’s first akumatization, where he’d showed up in her room and invited her to his birthday party, which was really more a date than anything else. Was this the same thing? No, it couldn’t be. But then why was he kneeling like he was going to _propose_ , holding out _red_ roses for him to take? Didn’t those mean romance or something?

Marc took a tentative step backwards, but reached out and accepted the flowers. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but, um, Nat—” The villain shot him a glance. “—Evillustrator, I really appreciate the roses, thank you.”

“You don’t know?” His intense gaze only deepened. “Lila _Rossi_ was telling people that you plagiarized some of your writing. I didn’t believe it, of course I didn’t, and I told her that. You’re amazing and perfect, and you’d never do something like that.”

Okay. Wow.

Attempting to keep from freaking out, both over the fact that there was an akuma in his room and over the fact that the said akuma was fawning over him in a way that definitely did _not_ seem platonic, Marc just attempted a grin and said, “Thank you! Um, I’m glad you know me well enough—”

“Of course!” Evillustrator got to his feet, still watching Marc intensely. “Would you be free to accompany me this evening?”

Marc blinked, his heart beating to the point where he felt like it was going to implode. _Accompany_ him? Like . . . as _a date?_ This was an akuma, but it was his friend and crush akumatized, and didn’t the akumas tend to want to protect those they really cared for? At least that’s what happened to Marinette the first time Evillustrator was here. Or was Marc just looking far too deeply into things, as he always did?

“With other people, or . . . ?”

Evillustrator shook his head, breaking eye contact. “No. Just the two of us.”

 _“Like a date?”_ His voice was hardly a whisper.

“That was the implication.” He shifted his weight awkwardly, glancing back at the erased door. “If you’d prefer not to, I understand, but I’d love it if you’d accept.”

So now Marc was here, sitting on a bench next to the Seine, watching the clouds pass by, his akumatized crush beside him. The bright moonlight allowed for the Evillustrator to focus on his tablet, which calmed Marc’s nerves a bit. If his attention was diverted, Marc didn’t have to talk to him, didn’t have to be stuck in that strange in-between where he was sure that Nathaniel didn’t like him like _that,_ but at the same time, the akuma’s desires seemed so obvious. Meanwhile, the Evillustrator continued to add things to the scene around the two, first having added a floral arch above the preexisting bench, then creating tealights and other little details that just gave the whole setting this ethereal feeling. And to Marc, the whole thing didn’t feel real anyway.

A sudden close sound made Marc turn. But it was just some soft classical music, the artist villain using his tablet to create a melody by drawing little notes that then floated into the air. Marc realized with a jolt that it was one of the classical songs he’d mentioned liking. Had Nathaniel really remembered such a minute detail?

“I’m so glad you chose to accept my offer.” Evillustrator spoke, his eyes still focused on his tablet but his voice soft and gentle. Marc had never imagined he would sound so kind. “I’ve liked you for so long, and I never was brave enough to say something. Only now, after Hawkmoth gave me the opportunity.”

“For real?” Marc asked, hardly daring to propose the question that he was desperate to hear the answer of. _Akumas weren’t in their right minds, he could’ve just been saying things he meant as Evillustrator and not as Nathaniel—_

“For real.” The music stopped, and Evillustrator looked over towards Marc with a soft grin. “Everything about you brings light to my life. You’re so talented and attractive and sweet; I’d love for us to be together if you’re willing to accept that as well.”

Marc inhaled deeply, desperately telling himself that this wasn’t real, that it was just akuma weirdness prompting this confession. It _had_ to be, right? If it wasn’t . . . the possibility that his crush in possessed form was spilling his feelings on the spot was almost too much to physically comprehend at the moment.

“But I’m just . . . me.”

The akuma shook his head, clearly in distaste at Marc’s low self esteem. “You’re so wonderful, Marc, and you don’t even know it.”

And Marc couldn’t prevent his cheeks from flushing when the Evillustrator reached forward, brushing stray hairs out of the writer’s eyes. Then he cupped Marc’s cheek, his lips forming a brief, wistful smile just before he dropped his hand and returned back to his tablet. 

That was when the reality of the situation set in. 

Marc didn’t know how and if things would change once the heroes showed up and Nathaniel was de-akumatized. Didn’t know if they would remain friends. Didn’t even know if he’d tell Nathaniel what was said, for fear that it really was just one of those strange goings-ons from akumas that wasn’t true in the slightest and would embarrass Nathaniel if he found out. He didn’t know any of it, and the unknown loomed closer and closer as the night grew darker.

But for now, he was content with resting his head on the Evillustrator’s shoulder as the music started again, soft notes of the melody picking up again and fading into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story's continued on Day 21!


	5. Day 5 - Study

When Nathaniel finally reached the library, he was already five minutes late. And he didn’t even have a coffee or dessert to bring to his friend for once, so there wasn’t even a good reason for his tardiness. Wasn’t he supposed to be early since he was the one who proposed the study session in the first place? 

But Marc had to be one of the most incredible people in the world for having the patience that he did. He was still in the library, sitting with the books out in front of him, paging through one of the textbooks that the two were supposed to study that afternoon.

“Hey, I’m so sorry!” Nathaniel exclaimed, quickly taking a seat next to Marc. To his credit, the writer wasn’t shocked or disappointed or anything, at least judging by his expression. And Nathaniel was glad for that. “Alix needed my help with something—”

“No, you’re good.” Marc smiled, reminding Nathaniel why he was indeed glad that the other boy wasn’t upset with him. His smile was so sweet and soft, it sent Nathaniel’s heart going absolutely wild. 

Nathaniel sincerely hoped that Marc didn’t suspect anything of his feelings. He wasn’t good with having a secret crush at all, similarly to how it had been when he liked Marinette. Because instead of revealing his feelings or just pretending that everything was totally platonic, he would remain quiet and shy around the target of his affection as much as possible. But Marc was his good friend and comic book partner, which made it not just difficult but impossible to avoid talking to him. And he liked talking to Marc! It would just get a bit strange when Marc would do something that made him swoon all over again and he’d have to keep acting like everything was fine.

“So . . . our final.” Nathaniel announced, opening his notebook to the first page in his Literature notebook. Except the first page was littered with drawings of Ladybug and Chat Noir, of Mightillustrator and Reverser, and one particular doodle of Marc with a few little hearts around it that he had to cover _immediately._

Thankfully, Marc didn’t seem to notice that either. “Yeah, the final.” he agreed. “Did you just want to go over our notes like we usually do, or did you want to test each other?”

“We could do both.” Nathaniel suggested. “Go over notes and then test each other?”

Marc nodded. “That sounds good.”

Nathaniel reached for his notes, only to remember that his notes were currently covered in more drawings than he even remembered doing. He cursed internally. Sure, it was relaxing to draw while he was supposed to be paying attention, but now that it was crunch time for the final test of the school year, he was absolutely stuck. “Um, Marc? I don’t have that many notes. Could we maybe . . . just use yours?”

Marc’s eyes flicked over to Nathaniel’s notes, or at least the ones that he hadn’t carefully covered with his arms. Thankfully, the only drawings visible were the “safe” ones, such as little doodles of Ladybug and Chat Noir or little comic strips about Mightillustrator and Reverser. 

Nathaniel glanced up, only to realize that Marc was looking at him too. But before he could say anything, the writer glanced away, his face completely red.

Marc pushed his notebook between the two of them, letting Nathaniel read the notes that were scrawled in Marc’s pretty cursive handwriting. He had the gift of that fancy handwriting that was difficult to read unless they knew his writing well, but Nathaniel, having read page after page of the stories intended for their comic books, knew Marc’s handwriting almost better than his own.

The first page was on the first author that both their classes had covered that semester, Jules Verne. Nathaniel remembered reading Verne’s works, just . . . he definitely could’ve paid better attention. But Marc, being a writer himself, was fascinated by both the authors and the books they read in class, and his notes were equally detailed. Maybe now he actually had a chance at passing the final.

“Next?” Marc asked. Nathaniel nodded, prompting Marc to turn the page.

Page after page covered every author that they’d talked about in class, Nathaniel occasionally writing down some of the information in his own notebook. Marc was quiet, as he tended to be, but if Nathaniel had questions about any of the authors, Marc could answer it with a smile and a sense of passion for the craft of writing in his voice.

Then Marc flipped the page to reveal the name of a book that Nathaniel vaguely remembered, yet couldn’t fully place the plot of. Feeling a little guilty for asking for more information, Nathaniel skimmed over the information regarding Edmond Rostand’s play, _Cyrano de Bergerac._

And as he was given a refresher on the fictional poet who doubted himself with his romantic feelings, the poet who knew that the person he loved already loved someone else, so he wrote from her love’s point of view, using that person as a cover, something seemed to click into place. 

It had been a while since the incident in the park. Marc had forgiven him almost more times than he’d apologized, which was a lot. But Nathaniel had never fully figured out why Marc had turned his non-romantic drawings of Mightillustrator with Ladybug and Chat Noir into a love story between his own character and Ladybug herself. Or why he wrote Ladybug as wanting to work with Mightillustrator, but being too shy to talk to him. That kind of sounded familiar. Or why the romantic scenes he wrote always were the most poignant.

Could Marc possibly be . . . _projecting?_

No, that was just grasping at straws. Looking for any minute detail that would prove his crush liked him back, something he’d definitely done before. And literally none of the signs involving Marinette had become reality. 

Still, Nathaniel glanced over to his friend.

And was once again surprised when his friend was looking back at him.

“Sorry!” Marc exclaimed, leaping backwards in a startled panic. “I was just making sure you were done with the page. You know, so I could turn it to the next—”

“No, you’re alright! And yeah, I’m done.”

Marc cast his eyes down to the page he’d been reading, his hands gently resting against the edge of the book. Anyone who didn’t know him would think that he was relaxed, but Nathaniel, someone who’d known him for a while now, could tell that he was tense. His shoulders were drawn together, he kept crossing and uncrossing his legs, and his cheeks were stained with pink, sure signs that he was unsettled.

And something within Nathaniel’s mind told him that he had to ask as soon as he could.

The risk could be huge.

But what if his intuition was right for once?

“Hey, Marc?” Nathaniel winced as his voice cracked. “Can we maybe talk about something? It’s not a bad thing, I think.”

The writer glanced back up, clear worry in his eyes. “We can.”

Nathaniel bit his lip, thinking how best to propose the topic. Without making Marc more uncomfortable by taking too much time, he came up with a hopefully-non-awkward way, though enacting it was the real step. “Um, so I’ve really been enjoying our friendship, but lately, I’ve been thinking about something else, and you already know I’m bi so I guess I’ll just say . . . I _like_ you. Romantically. And I was hoping you felt the same? If not, it’s totally—”

He was cut off by Marc rushing forward and embracing him tightly. Only startled temporarily, Nathaniel hugged him back, holding on until the boys simultaneously let go to look at each other. Marc’s face was even more red, but now he was beaming.

“I like you too!” the writer told him, the smile evident in his tone. “I have for a while!”

Nathaniel sighed in relief, letting his shoulders relax. “Oh, good. I really didn’t want to put you on the spot, but I felt like I just _had_ to say something. So . . . we could maybe try going on a date or something?”

Marc nodded. “I’d really like that, Nath.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.” he paused, casting his gaze to the notebook still in front of both of them. “After the final, maybe? Like right after school?”

“Yeah! That sounds good.” Marc rested his still-burning cheek against his hand, clearly in shock over what had just happened. “God, I never thought you’d ever feel the same way I do. I can’t even really believe it now.”

“Same here.” Nathaniel agreed. “But, um, we do still have to study.”

Did that sound stupid? A total mood killer? Of course, one minute after having someone actually like him back, and Nathaniel just _had_ to say every thought that crossed his mind. 

But Marc, the wonderful person he was, just smiled that sweet smile of his, agreed that they _definitely_ needed to study, and turned back to the notebook that was still sitting between the two. And that study session finished like ones they’d had before, with the one main difference being the way Nathaniel leaned against Marc’s shoulder and Marc in turn clutched Nathaniel’s hand for the latter part of the afternoon.

Needless to say, both did very well in that portion of the test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't totally sure what to do for this one, so hopefully it makes sense! I read Cyrano de Bergerac for school a while ago, and thinking through the prompt for today, I realized how the story is vaguely similar to Marc's. I also like to headcanon that Marc would have at least a slight interest in famous authors and novels, being a writer himself who probably excels in Literature and Language Arts.


	6. Day 6 - Picture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This definitely isn't my best, but hopefully it still sounds okay!

Marc adjusted his posture, shuffling his feet and watching the rest of the fundraiser event from the side. He sipped the cup of punch that he was currently clutching. It tasted like strawberries and was too sweet, but being able to hold something quelled his anxieties.

The colorful lights and streamers were a pleasant addition to the rows of booths, games, and other fundraising attractions to raise money for the school. The rest of the school really did seem to be enjoying themselves at the fundraiser, and Marc was happy for them, but seeing others having a great time while he stood to the side by himself sent his thoughts spiraling. Was there something wrong with him? Was he just a loser, a loner? Why was he uncomfortable with loud public settings? Why couldn’t he just have a good time with his classmates and other friends?

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

Nearly jumping in fear, Marc placed a hand over his chest and gasped. But it was only his friend Nathaniel, whose expression had frozen when he scared Marc, then melted into a shy smile. “Hey sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You’re okay.” Marc sipped the punch again. It didn’t taste any better.

But Nathaniel’s concerned expression hadn’t changed at all. “Are you doing alright?” 

When Marc didn’t reply, something dawned on Nathaniel’s face, likely a realization that this was one of those times when Marc was feeling overwhelmed. And despite how he was indeed feeling less than ideal, Nathaniel was always fantastic at helping him work through those feelings. The unfortunate side effect was that being around Nathaniel brought up . . . _different feelings._

“Hey Marc.” Nathaniel placed a hand on the writer’s arm, sending his thoughts spiraling into a completely different direction. _Nathaniel was touching his arm, and they were so close, and he was being so gentle, and_ — “Did you want to come hang out with my class?”

Marc shook his head, albeit regretfully. While Nathaniel’s class was wonderful and very welcoming to Marc’s presence, some of the classmates were rather loud and chaotic, and Marc wanted to make sure that he didn’t put himself into an even more overwhelming environment. 

Nathaniel tilted his head questioningly. “Did you just want to hang out with me?”

_Yes. Yes he did._

“Sure.” Marc bit his lip. 

Nodding, Nathaniel motioned towards the photobooth that had been set up. “Did you want to get pictures? I’ll pay. It’d be a nice, quiet thing for us to do, and I don’t have that many photos of the two of us.”

 _Quiet_. Quiet was good. “Yeah, that sounds fun.” 

And then Marc looked over and saw the photobooth in question.

His heart now raced for a different reason.

The photobooth at the fundraiser was set up by Vincent, the school photographer, and he charged a couple euros for a strip of photos. But what stood out even more painfully was that it was made with couples in mind. The photo strips had little hearts on them, the booth itself was decorated as if it was meant for prom, and Juleka and Rose were leaving, excitedly talking together and picking up their photostrip. As Marc watched, Rose stood on her tip-toes and kissed Juleka’s cheek.

Oh god. Nathaniel didn’t know it was a romantic thing, did he?

Marc loved Nathaniel with all his heart, but sometimes the artist could be pretty oblivious. Like when they’d first met, Nathaniel had lashed out instead of attempting to understand the situation. He’d apologized so many times and made it very clear how he valued Marc and his company, but he still didn’t catch on to situations until they were made obvious.

What’s more, Nathaniel might not have wanted his relationship with Marc to be perceived as romantic, even if it wasn’t in the first place. So going to a romantic-based photobooth . . . wasn’t the best idea.

“Nath!” Marc hissed, attempting to get his friend’s attention.

But Nathaniel wasn’t paying any attention to him now, gently guiding him through the crowd and towards the photobooth. Rose and Juleka had just left, each holding a strip of photos, and it was totally open. 

“Nath, you know this is a romantic thing, right?” Marc tried again. 

Nathaniel turned to face him, He had this strange expression, one that Marc had genuinely never seen before, and therefore could not understand. He almost looked . . . scared and happy simultaneously? That’s what it seemed like, anyway.

“Yeah.” was all he said before continuing to walk.

Vincent collapsed his hands together upon seeing them. “Ah, I was hoping we’d have more customers for the night! Come along! The camera counts down a couple seconds before each picture, so you have plenty of time to make it your best!”

Marc blinked as Nathaniel reached for his hand and pulled him through the dark curtain and onto the bench inside of the photobooth. _He was holding his hand, they were holding hands, and Nathaniel didn’t even realize what he was doing_ —

“Hey, Marc.” The artist’s voice wavered. Marc glanced over, his friend barely visible in the darkness, but he looked paler than usual and very panicky. On the screen, the camera started to count down from five. “I’ve, uh, been wanting to say this for a long time.”

Four.

Marc’s heart sped up. “Yeah?”

Three.

“I know we’ve been friends for a while, but um—”

Two.

Nathaniel paused, taking a deep breath. Marc waited in stunned silence for him to finish his statement, unable to move or breathe. It felt like he was choking on air. Nathaniel was rarely this . . . _vulnerable_ around Marc, and it was almost jarring to see. 

One.

“I have a crush on you.”

_Snap._

Marc blinked back the shine left over from the camera's light. The seconds started counting down again, but he paid it no mind. Everything seemed like a blurry haze at the moment, like nothing was steady or secure and if he did anything, it wouldn’t be _real_. So without thinking, he blurted, “I have a crush on you too!”

_Snap._

When the camera’s light faded, Nathaniel was staring at him with widened eyes. And before Marc could think to say something, the artist reached forward and hugged him tightly, Marc wrapping his arms around the other boy and refusing to let go. His breathing slowed down, and his heart followed suit.

_Snap._

“Can I kiss you?” Nathaniel’s voice was quiet and soft.

Marc nodded, not trusting himself to answer.

The artist awkwardly shifted to face the writer, cupping Marc’s cheek with a hand, and leaned forward. Marc’s heart rate sped up again, freezing him in his place. Something caused Marc’s brain to wake up a bit, just as the last few seconds ticked down on the timer. _He was touching Marc’s face! He was so close to him! Was he actually going to_ —?

Then Nathaniel pressed his lips against Marc’s. 

_Snap._

The boys exited the photobooth, Marc still in shock. As he fiddled with his gloves, letting the full light of the fundraiser hit him as a sharp contrast of the darkness of the photobooth, Nathaniel wrapped his arm around Marc’s shoulder. But when Marc looked over, the artist seemed to be in just as much shock. And Marc, still in a haze, could understand.

Vincent called out, “Oh, did you want your photos?”

The comic book partners exchanged a glance, then in silent agreement, walked back over to the table where Vincent was printing the little strips of four photos. Nathaniel reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a couple euros, then handed them to Vincent and received in return two identical photo strips.

“What lovely couple photos!” Vincent exclaimed. “Have a good day, boys!”

Without speaking yet, Nathaniel and Marc sat down at a table at the edge of the fundraiser, Nathaniel laying out the two photostrips on the table between the two of them. 

The first showed Marc with a hand over his mouth, staring in absolute shock at his friend, eyes widened and lips parted slightly. And the next was the same, but this time with Nathaniel staring dead in the eye at Marc with a strange expression. The third had the two of them hugging tightly, and the fourth—

_This couldn’t be real. No way was this real._

But the fourth picture with the two of them kissing softly was proof enough.

“So.” Nathaniel began, sitting back in his chair. He bit his lip, staring up at Marc with the same strange expression. Like he was scared but still wanted to say what was on his mind. “What do you want to do now? Just move on and stay just friends, or . . . ?”

Marc inhaled sharply. “I—I’d like to be more than friends.”

“Yeah.” Nathaniel watched Marc’s expression carefully. “Me too.”

And as Marc watched his friend—were they still just friends?—finally melt into a soft smile, eyes laser-focused on Marc’s lips, he started to feel like something different was blossoming between the two of them. He didn’t know if they were going to immediately date or something, or if they’d stay friends, just a different kind of friendship where they fully acknowledged their feelings for each other. But it was fine either way. Marc’s heart didn’t burn the way it used to, now that he’d been able to fully process the fact that he’d _told_ his crush he liked him. And they _kissed._ Yeah, that was good enough for him, at least for the moment.

And he knew he’d save the pictures forever.


	7. Day 7 - Lost

It had begun just like the past couple days. 

Everything was quiet and relaxed at first.

That is, until Hawkmoth’s new favorite akuma, or so it seemed, decided to make his reappearance. He was pretty easy to spot, though. His paper airplane hoverboard and minimalist color scheme were more than eye-catching. So when he glided through the city streets, crowds split and became scarce, even tourists dashing to find a hiding space from the strange being that had just appeared. 

And then, from the depths of a dark alleyway came Paris’ newest hero, Mightillustrator. With his pen and tablet, he could draw nearly anything and bring it to existence. He’d defeated this akuma together with Ladybug and Chat Noir the first time Reverser had been akumatized, but apparently he’d _kept_ getting akumatized, as he kept coming back again and again, a smug smile plastered on his face every time. 

Mightillustrator been a villain once too—a pretty bad one, if the faint memories he had were anything to go by—so he took pity on this particular akuma. It must suck to get akumatized so often, and it had been both physically and emotionally draining to succumb to his own negative emotions. But still, a villain was a villain, and Mightillustrator the villain-turned-hero needed to defeat him. Again.

“Hey, Reverser!” he called out, running towards the akuma and waving his arms to grab attention. And sure enough, upon hearing the hero’ voice, the akuma swiveled on his hoverboard, turning towards Mightillustrator with a light growl. There was this strange look in his eyes, like he was exhausted but trying to push through it.

As per usual, Reverser quickly aimed a paper airplane downwards. Mightillustrator ducked out of the way. The plane hit the ground harmlessly, dispelling into what seemed to be a thick swirl of black ink. Having been used to this, Reverser only bit his lip and frowned.

“Wow, you almost got me that time!” Mightillustrator exclaimed, twirling his pen.

Reverser ignored the comment, creating another paper plane in either hand. “I don’t have time for this, Mightillustrator.” he snapped, eyes narrowed, and with that, he hurled the planes towards the artist hero. 

One of the paper airplanes barely missed that time, heightening the tension. Mightillustrator knew that the paper airplanes caused people to _reverse,_ hence the name, but he didn’t know what that would mean for himself. He hadn’t been hit like the heroes had the first time, and Reverser hadn’t reversed someone the past few times that he’d been akumatized, so the thought of one of those airplanes hitting him and taking away his drawing ability . . . it definitely haunted the back of his mind.

Where were Ladybug and Chat Noir?

Making a split-second decision, Mightillustrator took off, running as fast as he could with no time to draw something that would help him go faster. Reverser, not prepared for this sudden shift, swiveled on his hoverboard, racing after the hero with the wind on his side. But Mightillustrator had the advantage of a head start, so when he passed the very alley he’d transformed in, he made a sharp turn and came to a stop just at the back of the wall. Reverser attempted to stop, but the momentum that he was flying at caused him to crash into the wall on the other side.

Wincing at the sound, Mightillustrator turned to see the villain sprawled out on the ground, both his hoverboard and paper costume slightly crumpled. His makeup—he wore makeup?—was smeared along his eyes. So he was technically defeated, but not painlessly. Feeling a sharp wave of pity for the akuma’s misery, Mightillustrator held out a hand to the villain.

“I can get up by myself.” Reverser snapped, scrambling to sit up. Both his black and white cheeks were stained with a light gray . . . was he _blushing?_ “Don’t be nice to me. It’s easier when you’re a jerk.”

Mightillustrator frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

Reverser rolled his eyes, reaching up and adjusting his hood, though it seemed to be no use as the once-pyramidal hood had now been crumpled and wrinkled. “I don’t like fighting you. But I have to, and it sucks. So stop being _so nice._ ”

Ignoring the other’s irritation, Mightillustrator sat down next to him. “Well, that’s kind of my job. I’m a hero, I’m supposed to be nice.”

“Yeah, I know. And it makes my job a lot harder.”

“Well, are you sick of working for Hawkmoth?”

Reverser flicked his eyes to the side, meeting Mightillustrator’s teal eyes with his own black and white ones. He didn’t even look upset, just . . . tired. “What do you mean?”

“I was an akuma once, too. And Ladybug and Chat Noir saved me and let me be a hero alongside them. I feel like I’m doing something good instead of working for a terrorist.” Mightillustrator watched the other’s face carefully, but Reverser didn’t react. “And they could do the same thing for you. I know they could. You wouldn’t have to fight me anymore; we could be on the same team.”

Apparently considering this, Reverser tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. But he just looked so defeated and miserable that his show of irritation didn’t last long, eventually giving up with a sharp exhale. “Yeah. I mean . . . I’ve been doing this for _days,_ Mightillustrator. And I’m not even angry anymore, just . . . stuck in emotion. I feel _lost.”_ At that moment, he blushed again, turning his face away sharply. “Or something like that.”

“Then come with me! We can go find Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Mightillustrator smiled and offered his hand again, but Reverser just stared at him, still sitting in place. 

“Why do you want me to join you so badly?”

That was a very good question. And Mightillustrator couldn’t really answer it, not without admitting that he’d seen the akuma falter in his evil actions over the past few days, that he _knew_ Reverser could be more than just a villain with a skillset and determination like he had, and most incriminating, that he’d found himself enjoying each time he ended up seeing the villain. That he found the other almost . . . _attractive._

But he couldn’t say that. Couldn’t predict how his future would go, how Reverser’s would, if they’d work together at all, if they’d end up hating each other, or if Reverser would just leave without so much as another word. So instead, he went with an answer that he knew would be truthful enough.

“Because I believe in you.”

Reverser considered this for a minute. It was a moment longer than Mightillustrator would’ve liked, what with the fear that Hawkmoth would interfere and make up the villain’s mind for him. But before anything like that could happen, the akuma reluctantly nodded.

“Yeah. Fine. Nothing could be worse than what I’m doing now, anyway.”

For the first time, when Mightillustrator reached out his hand, Reverser took it, letting the hero pull him to his feet. Now that he wasn’t standing on his hoverboard, he was a lot less intimidating, only a couple centimeters than Mightillustrator himself and with slightly mussed, two-toned hair. He stared at his feet, seemingly uncertain with his decision.

“You made a good choice.” 

Reverser glanced up sharply at Mightillustrator’s words, startled.

“Thanks.”

A couple days later, Ladybug cheerfully introduced Reverser as the newest member of their team. He waved shyly, having lost the anger and fury that he’d had as an akuma, though still wearing the same black-and-white geometric outfit. He still had his hoverboard too. Chat Noir grinned and shook the new hero’s hand several times, telling him how excited he was to have him on the team.

While Chat Noir talked, Reverser glanced past him and met Mightillustrator’s eyes, his expression far more gentle than it had been as an akuma. Mightillustrator offered him a smile, and for once, Reverser returned it.

Mightillustrator couldn’t make any guesses on if they’d be friends or more or nothing at all. He couldn’t even guess if they’d be able to defeat Hawkmoth. But what he could guess during their first fight, as he and Reverser worked side-by-side to defeat the new akuma, was that they were going to make a great team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story's tangibly continued on Day 20 and 26!


	8. Day 8 - Favorite Song (Wake Me Up)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, not the Evanescence song.
> 
> (It's Wake Me Up by Avicii)

The whole day had become one large blur. As if morning had been hundreds of years ago, and now time wasn’t passing any longer, as if one moment encapsulated the rest of life.

All things Marc considered while he was processing the events that had just taken place.

While working on their comic book in the art club, Nathaniel had stopped drawing and turned to Marc. The way that he was intentionally avoiding Marc’s eyes, the way his face was flushed bright red, the way his lips were pressed together . . . Marc’s heartbeat picked up at the anticipation. And Nathaniel was about to say something, his breathing quickening rapidly. But too soon, he shut down abruptly, going back to his drawing of Mightillustrator and Reverser. The panic didn’t fade from his face, either.

And after that set up with no payoff, Marc could only stare down at the words he’d written before, desperately wanting to know what Nathaniel had been planning to say even if it was going to hurt. Was Nathaniel going to say he found a new writer? That he didn’t want to make comic books anymore? That he thought it’d be better if they weren’t friends anymore? But he didn’t want to push his friend into anything, didn’t want to hurt him either. 

At the end of art club, Nathaniel had finally spoken up to invite Marc over to work some more on their comic book. They’d done this time and time again, so it wasn’t unusual, but Marc’s chest still felt tight at the expectation over what could’ve been said. Then they’d worked for a little bit, but somehow the two of them found themselves taking a break. Both were now sitting against the side of the bed, neither talking and both deep in thought. Or at least Marc was deep in thought. Nathaniel was trying to draw, but he was just poising his pencil over the drawing without adding anything to it.

So when Nathaniel reached for his phone, Marc nearly jumped. 

The artist glanced up to meet the other boy’s eyes. “Ah, sorry. It was too quiet.” 

Marc watched Nathaniel with rapt attention as he opened his music app and put it on shuffle. The writer didn’t know much about his friend’s music taste other than the fact that it was fairly eclectic. And he was pleasantly surprised to recognize the song that came on.

_“Feeling my way through the darkness_

_Guided by a beating heart_

_I can't tell where the journey will end_

_But I know where to start”_

“Oh, you like Avicii?” Marc asked, mindlessly pressing his pencil to the paper without actually writing anything. But when he turned to his friend again, he paled to see that Nathaniel was once again staring down at his drawing, his hair covering most of his face and his cheeks stained red. “Nath?”

Nathaniel glanced up. “Yeah? Sorry.”

“No, sorry to disturb you. Just . . . you look . . . off.”

_“They tell me I'm too young to understand_

_They say I'm caught up in a dream_

_Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes_

_Well that's fine by me”_

Shrugging, Nathaniel twirled his pencil and said, “I was just thinking about . . . stuff.”

“Like what happened in the art room earlier?”

As soon as he’d spoken, Marc knew that he’d said the wrong thing. He was always so worried that Nathaniel wouldn’t like him all of a sudden, even though his friend had done all he could to try and dispel those fears. And now he’d accidentally targeted something that Nathaniel was probably sensitive about. Why couldn’t he get it right?

Nathaniel took a deep breath, eyes fixed on his drawing. “Yeah, that. Look Marc, I’ve been thinking about . . . us. And I wanted to say something earlier, but I was too nervous.”

_“So wake me up when it's all over_

_When I'm wiser and I'm older_

_All this time I was finding myself_

_And I didn't know I was lost”_

Attempting to keep his focus on the music in the background, as if to ground himself through the turmoil that this conversation was causing, Marc said, “But Nath, we’re friends. I won’t be upset.”

“Yeah . . .” Nathaniel bit his lip. “But I just know that I upset you when we first met, and I really don’t want to do anything like that again. You’re one of my favorite people, and even though my intentions are trying to be good, I don’t want to misjudge anything and . . . yeah.”

_One of his favorite people._

But still, Marc didn’t let his thoughts spiral into something they didn’t need to be. Instead, he thought back to his guesses in the art room as to what Nathaniel was planning to say. Was he going to say that he’d found someone better to write for him, but he still wanted to be Marc’s friend? That could make sense, maybe.

“Nath, you made a mistake then. You won’t upset me now.”

_“I tried carrying the weight of the world_

_But I only have two hands_

_Hope I get the chance to travel the world_

_But I don't have any plans”_

“Okay.” Nathaniel exhaled, his hair fluttering slightly. “Um, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but I’ve just been scared. Like before. I don’t want to lose one of my best friends. But before I was thinking it was now or never, and I just . . . I want to tell you. Before we enter the comic book business together, before too much time passes and I lose my nerve.”

Marc nodding, taking a deep breath. It sounded like he’d been right in his guess, and he didn’t want to make Nathaniel have to say the words if he already knew. “I understand. You found someone who’d be better suited to be your writer, but you still want to be friends.”

Turning sharply, Nathaniel stared at him, eyes widened. “What? No! No, no, you’re one of the best writers I’ve ever met! I love your stories. No, that’s not it at all.” He sighed, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “It’s totally different than that.”

_“Wish that I could stay forever this young_

_Not afraid to close my eyes_

_Life's a game made for everyone_

_And love is the prize”_

“Marc, I think I like you. As more than just a friend.”

The world stood still. 

The music faded from the background, becoming just part of the haze that surrounded the whole room. Marc closed his eyes, taking a moment’s pause to fully process what had just been said. Thoughts raced through his head faster than he could understand all of them. _Was this some kind of joke? Nathaniel liked_ **_him?_ ** _And if he really did . . . what did that mean for them?_

_“So wake me up when it's all over_

_When I'm wiser and I'm older_

_All this time I was finding myself_

_And I didn't know I was lost”_

“I like you too.” Marc barely whispered.

When he opened his eyes, Nathaniel was staring right at him, now genuinely shocked. He was clutching the drawing so hard that it started to wrinkle where his fingertips made contact, but he hadn’t even noticed yet, just watching Marc with a vulnerability that was uncommon for him to openly show. Marc had hardly seen him like that before.

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do.” He exhaled, resting his head in his hands. “I really have for a long time.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Me too. I just was worried you didn’t like me back, not after . . . what happened. But I just wanted to tell you before . . . before it’s too late. Before we both go to university or whatever . . . I don’t want to leave you forever.”

“I’m glad you did.” Marc finally met Nathaniel’s eyes exactly, jade green meeting brilliant blue. “Because I’m not sure I would’ve been able to.”

“You underestimate yourself.” Nathaniel shrugged, letting his shoulders relax for the first time since Marc had seen him that day. “But I get it, I do it too. I just want you to know . . . you’re a really incredible person, Marc.”

On instinct, Marc covered his burning cheeks. He just _knew_ that Nathaniel could tell how flustered he was just from a couple compliments! But based on the artist’s smile and the way he gestured Marc over, he really didn’t mind. Soon, it was the two of them sitting side by side, not working, just relishing in the lack of tension and each other’s company.

And after a couple minutes, when Nathaniel turned slightly, his face just as red as Marc’s, and asked, “Can I kiss you?”, Marc didn’t even bother to hide his smile or his instinctive reaction. Even though he couldn’t help overthinking at times, the moments of bliss were so much better. 

“I’d love if you did.”

_“So wake me up when it's all over_

_When I'm wiser and I'm older_

_All this time I was finding myself_

_And I didn't know I was lost”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This song isn't my favorite one, but it came up on one of my playlists and just reminded me of them. The song is all about making decisions based on emotions before you miss it entirely and wanting to live in bliss while you can, and I feel like while the urge to suppress feelings would come up, Nathaniel wouldn't want to take a chance on waiting it out again and would eventually feel the talk about it with Marc. That's just my personal interpretation, but I thought it'd be interesting to work with.


	9. Day 9 - Publish

As the clock ticked down minutes, Marc stared into space. His eyes were wide as he watched out the window, seeing the cloudy sky and people walk by without a care in the world. Nathaniel, equally stuck in an endless loop of anxiety, gently rubbed his boyfriend’s back as a small sign of comfort. Neither spoke, just thinking and waiting.

“Mr. Kurtzberg and Mr. Anciel?”

Both glanced up, meeting each other’s eyes before turning to the receptionist. She nodded, motioning for them to head upstairs. And they did so, making their way to the stairs and then up with Nathaniel clutching Marc’s hand throughout to the point where he was scared he was going to ruin the writer’s gloves. Marc didn’t mind, though, as he himself seemed to be craving the support that Nathaniel’s grip was offering.

They stopped at the eighth floor’s door, opened it, then headed down the carpeted hallway to the 20th door as instructed before. Marc winced as his combat boots slammed against the quiet floor, breaking the silence. Nathaniel smiled at him, but before either could say anything, the door opened and a taller man with greying hair welcomed them inside.

“Thank you.” Marc said politely, taking the first of two seats on the guest side of the man’s desk. 

Nathaniel took the other. He resisted the urge to glance over towards Marc and check to make sure that he wasn’t panicking or anything, even if glancing between themselves might make them seem uncertain. And the one thing they didn’t want was to appear uncertain like that in front of their agent.

A gloved hand latched onto Nathaniel’s, who held on once again. 

“Well, boys.” the agent began, taking a seat in his chair with a pleasant smile on his face. His demeanor helped with the overall tension, but not much. “Are you excited to see the next issue of your comic book on shelves?”

Marc inhaled sharply. “It’s being accepted?”

“Yes!” His smile grew. “We’ve actually had one-on-one meetings with some of the businesses that carry your comic books, and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. One even called it ‘a massive feat for representation’. So, even though they haven’t officially filled shelves yet, congratulations!”

“That’s amazing!” Nathaniel exclaimed, squeezing Marc’s hand for emphasis. “When do you think the first copies will be out?”

“Hopefully within the next two weeks. However . . .” The agent reached into his desk and pulled out a couple comic books. Nathaniel realized with a jolt that those were advance reader copies of the new comic book, the image on the cover being the one he’d finished drawing hardly a few days ago. “These two are for you to take with you.”

“Thank you!” Marc exclaimed, picking his copy up with his free hand. “We really appreciate it.”

“Of course! Always wonderful to see young artists getting into the business.”

Both boys shook hands with the agent before leaving.

After leaving the building, both silent in their shocked excitement, they walked down the street, still holding hands. In their other hands were the advance copies of their new comic book. The sun now shone brightly, filling the scene with a renewed lack of worry. 

The two ended up getting coffee and ice cream to celebrate, then sat down on a bench by the Seine, watching the people pass by. Nathaniel glanced over and was pleased to see his boyfriend’s small smile. The way the sunlight glinted off the writer’s hair, the way his eyes were so electric green . . . Marc was always cute, but in that moment, he looked absolutely incredible.

After a while of good, relaxed silence, Nathaniel opened the new comic book and started flipping through pages. There was an improved version of one of the first drawings he’d ever made of Mightillustrator, drawn long before he and Marc had even met. And there was the drawing he’d done of the two of them soon after they’d gotten together. These mixed with the new drawings they’d done specifically for this issue, intertwined with Marc’s writing and ideas, turned into not only the end of their first storyline but also one of their best comic book issues. And as he flipped to the last page, the finale of the ongoing storyline that had everyone on the edge of their seats, he decided that the end was more than just satisfying.

Marc peered over Nathaniel’s shoulder. “Aw. We did a good job.”

“We really did.” Nathaniel smiled, leaned back, and gently kissed Marc’s cheek. “I hope everyone likes this one as much as we do.”

“I hope so too. I’m just glad they let us do the ending we wanted, though.”

Nathaniel placed the comic book issue in his lap as to better rest next to his boyfriend, his fingers gently brushing against the last page, the moment their whole audience was waiting for. But even that didn’t matter as much as the fact that he was able to share this moment with someone that he loved, someone that loved  _ him, _ someone that he trusted with his whole heart and never wanted to leave. 

“Me too.”

If someone happened to walk by, they might catch sight of the comic book still lying open on his lap. And if they were invested in the storyline, they might be pleased to see the last page, with Mightillustrator and Reverser lagging behind the other heroes in their city-wide victory, holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes, each smiling like they’d just been given the world. They might be thrilled to see the last line of dialogue being “I love you”, said by Mightillustrator, confirming the two to be an official couple.

But no one walked by, and no one disturbed the boys as they finished their quiet celebration together, just the two of them enjoying the fading sunlight and each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After they've gotten together, it'd make sense that they'd want to make their comic book personas also a couple. But when they send it to the publisher, it also might be a cause of worry for them to think that some may not want to sell their comic due to homophobia and censorship. So when it's confirmed and met with support, it would be so incredibly exciting for both of them.


	10. Day 10 - Night

“Anyone else getting tired?” Nino asked the group. No one responded, just a lot of shrugs and nods mixed with yawns, but that was enough of an answer. “Cool, then we’ll just finish this movie and head to sleep.”

“Sounds good.” Adrien nodded, his eyes already half-closing.

The boys in Mme. Bustier’s class had all decided to hold a sleepover together, Nino being the one to have it at his house. And for once, Adrien was allowed to come, his father being out of the country for a week. So they made a big event out of it to support their friend, given that they didn’t usually have sleepovers in the first place.

Nathaniel, not one to go to many sleepovers unless they were with Alix, already sort of felt like he was overstepping. And even more so when Nino asked if he wanted to invite Marc. It’s not like Marc knew too many people in the class, having only really become friends with the members of the art club. 

But now here he was, watching the end of a cheesy horror movie on Nino’s couch, Marc right by his side. Actually, Marc was _quite_ close, unintentionally almost curled up by Nathaniel’s side, head on his shoulder as they watched the movie together. Well, everyone was close, given that there were seven boys in one small living room, but still . . .

Nathaniel glanced over to his friend, then did a double take when he realized that Marc was asleep, his lashes gently fluttering as he rested against Nathaniel’s arm. He clutched their shared blanket, a soft smile on his face.

Frozen in place, Nathaniel attempted to focus on the movie. But his attention was definitely diverted. It was just so much _easier_ when he’d thought Marc was awake! But now, he had to cope with Marc leaning against him like it was second nature, with Marc’s hair gently tickling his neck, with Marc’s calm demeanor and light breathing that implied he wasn’t aware of his surroundings. And Nathaniel desperately hoped his own face wasn’t flushed as red as it felt.

Kim was the first to notice, his eyes going wide when he looked over. Suddenly very awake, he nudged Max, who just glanced towards the artist and the writer with a mildly uninterested expression on his face. So with no other person to draw the attention of, Kim whispered to Nathaniel, “Dude, you’re _blushing.”_

“Um . . .” Nathaniel attempted to respond, hiding his face with the little bit of the blanket that Marc hadn’t claimed. So he’d gotten unlucky enough that it _was_ obvious. “I guess I am.”

To his credit, Kim didn’t say anything, just nodded and turned back to the movie. If only it was that easy for Nathaniel to move on, but it was near impossible when Marc was as close as he was. It felt so . . . intimate. More than platonic. And despite his overwhelming panic, it was really sweet.

The credits of the movie rolled, prompting Nino to click on the overhead lights as the boys found their sleeping stuff and got ready to head to bed. Nathaniel might’ve been amused to see that Adrien was already asleep had he not been desperately panicking over the _other_ person who’d fallen asleep early. How was he going to wake Marc up without it being awkward and weird? Or was he just internally making a perfectly normal thing uncomfortable since he liked Marc?

Thankfully, before he had to come up with an answer to either of those questions, Marc yawned and sat up. Nathaniel carefully watched him out of the corner of his eye. It took him a moment to adjust to his surroundings, but when he did, his eyes fully opening, he froze, dropping the blanket with pink-stained cheeks. 

“Um, I’m so sorry if I kept you—I mean, that I fell asleep on—”

“It’s fine.” Nathaniel said hurriedly. “But um, maybe we should get ready to sleep?”

“Yeah, I-I’m tired.” Marc agreed, pulling his hood over his head. Which he only did now when he was really uncomfortable and feeling anxious. And seeing that sent a pang through Nathaniel’s heart. Had he done something to make Marc feel anxious? Or was it just the situation in general?

A little while later, some of the boys had already fallen asleep, but Nathaniel lay wide awake in bed, still embarrassed and yet slightly glad that Marc had accidentally fallen asleep so close to him. But maybe that sort of intimacy had made Marc feel uncomfortable, and he really didn’t want to make that feeling worse in any way. Even if the writer was the person he had a huge crush on, he was still Nathaniel’s friend, and ruining that friendship would be devastating. 

It was getting late at night now, and everyone had to be asleep, right?

But no, when Nathaniel glanced right to his side, he saw that Marc was still awake too, staring off into space with his hoodie on over his pajamas. His green eyes looked almost black in the dark room, glossy in reflecting the little light that crept in from outside. 

“Hey, Marc?” Nathaniel whispered. “I’m not upset. You know that, right?”

Marc didn’t answer for a minute, long enough that Nathaniel almost came to the conclusion that the writer actually _was_ asleep and just looked awake in the dim light. But before he could try once again to fall asleep, Marc finally whispered back, “I guess. But, um, I’m still really sorry. That must’ve been awkward for you.”

“No, don’t worry about that. You looked comfortable.”

“Oh.”

And both boys went quiet for a moment.

But even after that, Nathaniel honestly, genuinely couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t even his insomnia that was acting up, he was just stuck on the situation at hand. Because night made everything seem strange and different, and now he felt a bit emboldened, which was rare. 

“Um, Marc?”

The writer shifted, turning again to look Nathaniel in the eye. “Yeah?”

“Uh . . .” _It was now or never,_ Nathaniel reminded himself. “If you’d like, I wouldn’t mind if the two of us went to sleep like that again? I mean, the way you fell asleep earlier, when we were close? I like being by you, and I was actually really comfortable, so if you were, too . . .”

Once again, Marc didn’t respond for a moment, leading to Nathaniel’s thoughts spiraling again. Had he made the wrong judgement? But no, before his thoughts could take him down that path, Marc simply nodded and replied with, “Um . . . if y-y-you _really_ don’t mind, I’d l-like to. But, uh, when?”

“Now, if you want?” 

And before he had time to doubt his answer, Marc sat up, adjusting his hood. “Okay.”

Within minutes, he boys had pulled their sleeping bags together, Marc leaving a little room between the two, but after double-checking to make sure it was okay, Nathaniel closed the gap. They also had reclaimed their blanket from the couch, pulling over their sleeping bags. Gingerly, as if he didn’t want to hurt anyone, Marc rested his head against Nathaniel’s, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

“Is this okay?” he whispered. 

Nathaniel couldn’t hide his smile. “Yeah. It’s perfect.”

All was still for a while, quiet and calm to the point where Nathaniel was absolutely sure that his comic book partner had fallen asleep again. But just before he too drifted off, Marc shifted slightly and whispered, “Hey, Nath?”

Half asleep and not fully aware of his surroundings, Nathaniel whispered back, “Yeah?”

“Um, this might be really bad timing, but uh . . . I like you?”

“Oh, good. I like you too.”

“No, like more than a friend. I have a crush on you.”

“That’s what I thought you meant. Me too.” And as if to prove it, Nathaniel reached down and grabbed Marc’s hand from below the blanket. He hadn’t held Marc’s hand often, and definitely not after the writer had taken off his gloves, but he was glad he did. Glad to see Marc smile softly as he seemed to drift off, finally relaxed again. “Goodnight, Marc.”

“Goodnight, Nath.”

And when the other boys found them cuddling in their sleep the next morning, they didn’t say anything about it, acting like nothing had happened. But privately, they were each thrilled how it seemed like Nathaniel _finally_ admitted his feelings to his long-standing crush. 


	11. Day 11 - Fashion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makeup counts as fashion, right? I count it, anyway.
> 
> This idea's been floating around my head for a while, so hopefully it makes works!

“This is taking forever, and I’m getting bored.” 

Reverser glanced over at his boyfriend, who was sitting at the edge of the roof and staring out over the numerous lights of Paris. The light reflected in the artist's eyes and against his hair, causing a pretty orange-yellow glow effect. _God, he loved his boyfriend so much._

He remembered before the two of them met, how he’d sit and watch him drawing from afar. As civilians of course, but still. And then even when he was first akumatized, he found himself enchanted with the prospect of being with the artist he’d liked for so long that he simply couldn’t find it in him to hate the very person who’d gotten him akumatized in the first place. And since things had changed and improved between the two of them, they’d become fast friends, then ended up dating. 

Having the person he’d been crushing on _want_ to kiss him? Incredible.

And he loved Nathaniel, so loving his bolder alter ego wasn’t even a question. Their relationship was different, as Reverser himself knew that he was certainly different than Marc. But the differences made everything interesting, in their joint status as akumas with a mild distaste for Hawkmoth. A notable difference was a matter of personality: Evillustrator was very outwardly affectionate and enamored with whomever he was in love with. Not that Reverser was complaining. He tended to be a lot more quiet and direct, but he absolutely loved how sweet and caring his boyfriend could be when he wasn’t tormenting the heroes and the citizens of Paris.

The two of them were currently waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up and continue their fight after a close encounter where the two heroes had needed to rest up. But the akumas didn’t need any rest time, and they’d already gotten their revenge that they’d originally desired, so they’d been waiting for a while and it was getting rather boring. Hence the earlier comment.

“I know, I am too.” Reverser mused, his voice faraway and hazy. The wind shifted, disrupting his duo-toned hair, the white strands he could see almost glowing in the faint light. “Draw something. Practice for when they show up.”

“You know I don’t need practice.” And he was right. Being that incredible at art was like second nature to him. 

“Then if you want, draw something for me.” He glanced up, noting the way that the sky had darkened since they arrived. “When the moon comes back, anyway.”

They sat in silence for a moment, legs hanging limply off the side of the building with the cool night air filling the rooftop. Nothing stirred, the only noise coming from far below where crowds of people still flooded the streets. None looked up, though, or else they’d see the two teenage villains simply watching and waiting. Which was fine anyway; even if someone started to panic, one paper airplane and they’d calm down instantly, giving the akumas the element of surprise.

The clouds parted then, sending moonlight spilling over the scene. Evillustrator glanced up, a smile crossing his face, then he looked back down at his tablet and started sketching something.

“Hey.” Reverser spoke up. “Remember that time you did my makeup?”

“As civilians? Yeah. Why?”

“Did you want to do it again? Since you’re _so bored._ ”

Evillustrator glanced up, smiling slyly over at his boyfriend. And then he erased whatever was on his tablet, starting instead to draw a makeup palette. A couple seconds later, the actual palette appeared in his hand.

Reverser turned, adjusting himself to fully face the artist. His boyfriend did the same, looking him dead in the eye. And then he reached forward and pulled Reverser’s hood back, exposing the rest of the writer’s duo-colored hair with a grin.

Evillustrator opened the makeup palette, picking up the brush and then pausing with a mischievous glint in his eye. “You’re never going to guess the colors I picked.” 

“Hmm, black and white?”

“Wow, how’d you know?” The artist laughed, dipping the brush into the white eyeshadow tin. “I don’t do makeup much, so let me know if I’m terrible at this.”

“You’re not, Monsieur ‘I Don’t Need Practice’. It’s literally just art.”

Reverser closed his eyes gently, feeling the light pressure of the brush skimming his eyelids. It was unfortunate that he had to close his eyes for it, otherwise he’d definitely be appreciating his boyfriend’s entertaining focused expression. He tended to clench his teeth and narrow his eyes when trying to focus, and it was honestly pretty cute.

“Done.”

“That was fast.” Reverser opened his eyes, only to see himself with a mildly shocked expression in a mirror that had apparently just been drawn. But his focus was on the light sheen of white over his right eye and black over his left, matching his lips. It was as clean of a job as if the artist had been doing makeup for years. “Wow. You did great.”

“Not that you need makeup to look incredible.” 

Of course he was trying to be sappy, he always was, and it always worked. Reverser cast a glance to his boyfriend, who laughed, his eyes alight. It was almost so easy to forget what the two of them were created for, the inherent fact that they were only brought forth due to pain and for Hawkmoth’s personal use, when he saw the other villain’s lovely smile.

“You alright?”

“Mmhm. Just—love you.”

“I love you too.” The artist rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder, a smile gracing his lips. Even though Reverser couldn’t see his face, he could tell that the other was deep in thought. “Seriously though, where are they?”

_“Evillustrator! Reverser!”_

At the sound of their names, the two turned to glance across the rooftop, where Ladybug, who’d yelled their names, was standing with a hand on her hip, and Chat Noir stood right behind her, grinning slightly and hardly visible in the dark. Finally. It'd taken them long enough.

“Speak of the devil.” Reverser muttered. “You’re ready?”

“Whenever you are, Rev.”

The writer stepped onto his hoverboard, reaching out a gloved hand towards his boyfriend to pull him onto it. And after a moment’s pause to get situated, the two villains took off into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always kind of wondered what the akumas do when they're waiting for the heroes to recharge their powers and whatnot, so this idea's intrigued me. And I've been wanting to write some kind of Evillustrator and Reverser thing for one of the prompts this month, so I went with this.


	12. Day 12 - Desk

Nathaniel rang the doorbell again, tapping his foot as he waited for Marc to answer. They were supposed to meet up to work on their comic book at a nearby cafe, and Nathaniel, attempting to seem like a good friend and artistic partner, offered to pick Marc up. But he hadn’t really added in the part where Marc wasn’t good at early mornings and would probably sleep in. He also hadn’t added in the piece where he was always late to things, so now he was at Marc’s house a good fifteen minutes after he’d planned to be while the writer was probably still asleep.

After a bit, Mme. Anciel opened the door. She didn’t generally regard Nathaniel too highly, but she still let him in every time he was over. “You’re welcome to go and see what he’s up to.” she told him, motioning towards the stairs. 

Nathaniel nodded, thanking her, and then started his way to the Anciel family’s upstairs floor. He’d been here enough times that he knew the layout fairly well, and heading to Marc’s room from where he was at was a non-issue.

After walking up the creaky stairs, he got to Marc’s room fairly quickly and knocked on the door, waiting to see if the writer was possibly awake and just lost track of time or something. But no answer came from within the room, so after taking a long, deep breath, Nathaniel quietly opened the door and made his way inside.

Marc’s room was one of the most eclectic and interesting rooms Nathaniel had been in, which was probably helped by his secret feelings for his comic book partner. He had music era posters on three of his walls. The fourth wall was filled with art, some of it drawings Nathaniel himself had done, and above it hung a large pride flag. And his desk where he did his writing and work had quite a few little knick-knacks. Nathaniel particularly liked the framed picture the two of them had taken the first time they met up outside of school, both boys awkwardly grinning and just generally thrilled to be hanging out.

At the moment, Marc was asleep at the desk, his head lying on top of a ton of papers with his signature cursive on them, sections of his dark hair covering a good majority of the words. His hand still clutched a pencil, and his hood was pulled over his head. He was breathing softly, just loud enough that Nathaniel could hear him.

Nathaniel smiled. Of course Marc had fallen asleep while writing again. He’d done it a few times before, and it was pretty cute to see him so calm and relaxed. 

He was about to reach forward and shake Marc’s arm gently to wake him up when he noticed a rather long piece of writing lying next to Marc’s head. _It must’ve been the next section for their comic,_ Nathaniel reasoned, and he’d definitely been looking forward to reading what Marc had in mind for their storyline. So instead of immediately waking up his friend, he decided to skim through the writing for a moment.

_“Another day, another victim of akumatization. But this time, the unfortunate person was my teammate and friend, Mightillustrator. I don’t know what caused him to be reakumatized, just that I turned on the news as a civilian and heard from a worried news anchor that the Evillustrator was indeed back.”_

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow, interested. They’d briefly talked before about the possibility of bringing back either Evillustrator or Reverser as a villain, but they hadn’t gone much past discussion. So he was definitely interested where Marc was going to take this.

_“I called Chat Noir, and then Reverser. I know Reverser is quite close to Mightillustrator, so I took care to let him know gently, but he was all ready to help his teammate. We met in the park, where Evillustrator was currently in a fuming rage, destroying the scenery and attacking anything he could with his projectiles. I walked up to him, desperate to try and find a way to reason with him._

_‘Evillustrator, stop! We don’t have to do this!’_

_‘Yes, we do!’ he cried, lashing out with one of his spinning saw blades towards me. I was hardly able to jump out of the way in time to avoid being injured. ‘You don’t understand!’_

_‘I’m trying to understand!’_

_He ignored me, shooting a couple more blades towards the other heroes. As I made sure to stay away and keep myself safe, I noticed that while Chat Noir also barely got away, Reverser was able to dodge easily, as the blade wasn’t exactly aimed at him. Interesting.”_

Now Nathaniel was genuinely invested. Since the reason that Evillustrator was re-akumatized was left unclear, seeing that he wasn’t exactly trying to attack Reverser was fascinating. Honestly, a lot of the description so far would be fun to sketch out, so he wanted to finish reading, and quickly. He cast a quick look down at Marc, who was still sleeping, then continued to read.

_“I noticed a couple tears in the villain’s eyes. Something must’ve really upset him, and he wouldn’t even let me get close enough to find out what it was. Chat Noir either, who ducked into a bush to avoid a set of giant boxing gloves aimed at him. But what about Reverser? He was high up on his hoverboard, and currently staring down at Evillustrator with a stunned look in his eye. He carried a paper plane, but didn’t throw it yet._

_I made eye contact with Reverser, and he nodded. He knew what to do._

_Or at least, I thought he did._

_He flew down next to the akuma, who just watched him with a strange expression. I_ **_thought_ ** _he was going to reverse Evillustrator and turn him good once again, but he didn’t. Instead, he watched the villain for a moment, watched the way that he was struggling with his anger. Evillustrator poised his pen to his tablet, but drew nothing, his whole body shaking. And then, Reverser reached out and embraced the akuma in a hug, wrapping his arms around him and stroking his hair. Evillustrator didn’t move, just stood there and let Reverser hold him for a moment._

_‘I thought that I was—I didn’t want—’ Evillustrator attempted, burying his face in Reverser’s shoulder. ‘I was going to confess my feelings to the person I like, but I got too scared of the answer, and—’_

_‘I understand.’ Reverser said, still gently running his fingers through the villain’s messy hair. ‘I’ve had the same thing. But you can’t let Hawkmoth control you, I hate to see you like this.’_

_Without answering, Evillustrator handed over his pen, and Reverser snapped it in half. The akuma flew out, and I quickly jumped up to purify it, still shocked at the events that had just taken place. While the bright white butterfly flew into the sky, Reverser continued to hug his teammate, even as Hawkmoth’s influence faded away. I performed the miraculous cure and joined Chat Noir, who was standing a couple feet from the other two._

Nathaniel hadn’t even realized he was tapping his fingers against the desk until Marc shifted in his sleep, causing a disruption in Nathaniel’s frenzied reading. He glanced up, his cheeks going red at the realization of his excitement. He really needed to wake up his comic book partner and have them get going, but he just wanted to finish the story . . .

_‘I’m sorry.’ Mightillustrator muttered. ‘Sorry . . .’_

_Reverser smiled. ‘No, you’re okay. I know how hard confessing to a crush can be.’_

_‘Oh. You heard that?’_

_Reverser let go of his teammate, taking a step backwards. ‘Don’t worry about it.’ He glanced towards me with an uncertain glance on his face, but when I didn’t react, he turned back to Mightillustrator and continued. ‘I think Ladybug already knows you like her, though.’_

_I did know. He’d attempted to tell me so before, and I gently told him that while I was thrilled to be his teammate, I already had feelings for Chat Noir. Mightillustrator took it well, saying that he was glad we could be teammates then, and that he hoped it wasn’t going to be awkward now. I assured him it wouldn’t. So I didn’t think it was myself that Mightillustrator wanted to confess to._

_Sure enough, he said, ‘No, it’s not her. It’s . . . someone else.’_

_‘Oh! Okay. It’s up to you, then. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to confess to my own crush, so I understand. Rejection is scary.’_

_Mightillustrator nodded, but his heart wasn’t in it. ‘I think I do want to say it, though.’_

_And in that moment, I knew exactly who he wanted to confess to._

_‘Reverser, we’ve been teammates for a long time, and we’ve been friends for most of it, too. But um, recently, I think I’ve realized that I like you more than just that. I have a crush on you. I was going to tell you earlier, and if you don’t like me that way I’ll never bring it up again, but—’_

_He was cut off by Reverser flinging his arms around him again._

_‘Yes, I like you too! I’ve liked you for so long.’_

_‘Really?’ Mightillustrator’s face lit up. ‘Did you want to go out sometime?’_

_‘Absolutely!’ Reverser exclaimed._

_And I smiled fondly, remembering the first time Chat Noir and I confessed to each other, as the other two heroes brought their lips together and gently kissed—”_

“Nathaniel?”

Dropping the paper in surprise, Nathaniel glanced up to look Marc in the eye. When he saw the writer’s shocked expression, he felt like a kid who’d been caught doing something wrong, even though he hadn’t thought he was doing anything bad by reading what he’d assumed was a piece of writing for the comic book. But it just seemed so . . . personal.

Marc watched him silently, jade green eyes full of melancholy uncertainty.

He didn’t know what to think about the storyline Marc had written. He didn’t know if it _meant_ anything, or if he was reading too much into it without any sense of proof. He should’ve been used to it by now, assuming that any little thing meant that his feelings were reciprocated.

But he really _really_ wanted it to mean that Marc liked him too.

“I’m so sorry for reading it, Marc. I really thought that it was for the comic book.”

“No, I shouldn’t have left it out for anyone to see. It was, um, kinda personal for me.” He bit his lip, thinking. His eyes were downcast, and he turned to the side, facing away from Nathaniel. “I’m sorry, too. That was probably really weird for you to read, huh?”

“No! Not at all! Um, did you—are you—?” Nathaniel couldn’t put his words together, couldn’t say the question that he so desperately wanted to ask. “The relationship with Mightillustrator and Reverser—” He noticed Marc flinch. “—was it something you, uh, actually wanted to have happen with us—?”

Marc took a deep breath. “Yeah. I like you a lot, Nath. But I understand if you don’t feel the same way, and we can keep being friends if you’re still comfortable with that—”

“No, Marc! I like you, too!”

The writer flicked his eyes to face Nathaniel. “You . . . do?”

Nathaniel nodded, making sure he was looking directly at Marc to prove it to him. He knew it was sometimes hard for Marc to take in information, since his anxiety tended to imply that people were lying to him, so he tried to look as sincere as possible. “Trust me, I’ve liked you from the moment I realized I was being a jerk by ripping your notebook. Sorry again for that.”

“You’ve apologized a lot of times for that.” As he spoke, Marc buried his face in his arms, his cheeks bright red. “Agh, I didn’t realize you liked me as more than a friend. I don’t think I’m good with this kind of thing.”

“It’s okay.” Nathaniel told him gently, sitting next to him and running a hand through the writer’s hair. “But I think you’re amazing. Did you want to maybe try dating? If we both like each other, I mean.”

Marc lifted his head, a small smile on his lips. He still seemed embarrassed, but not as embarrassed as he’d been a minute ago, with his face slowly returning back to its regular color and his hands shaking less. He looked, well, like _Marc,_ and Nathaniel could hardly believe that someone so incredible would even come close to liking him. He was just so . . . _lucky._

“Yeah, I’d love that.”


	13. Day 13 - Sport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Breakdance AU because I've been meaning to write one for a while and it fit the prompt well.

It’d been six hours and Nathaniel was still thinking about Marc.

He genuinely had thought Marc was someone else, but that definitely didn’t excuse ripping Marc’s journal. And after talking to his friend Alix, he realized the ramifications of what he did, his anger fading away to horror and shame. But when he went to look for Marc, the writer was missing entirely and apparently hadn’t been seen for hours. So by the time Nathaniel’s evening plans rolled around, he still hadn’t been able to apologize, just stuck hoping that he’d see Marc and the writer would forgive him. Even though that was a long shot at best.

But for now, he had something else to focus on.

Attempting to shake off his feelings about the day’s events, Nathaniel made his way down the dark hallway, then snuck into the bathroom that the dance studio let them use. It was dingy and dark, but that was fine, usually anyway. It’d taken him a while to be less of a perfectionist when it came to his makeup, but now, he was able to quickly smear some of the dark purple eyeshadow around his eyes and call it a day. After changing into his usual outfit that consisted of purple leggings, orange sneakers, and a striped shirt with his invented insignia—the primary colors—on it, he was just about ready to head out. He just had to use a bit of gel and a hair straightener to sweep most of it out of his eyes, then add some temporary purple hair spray to the ends.

Walking into the main room, he caught sight of his usual group and waved to them. Alix was there, of course, as was a good portion of his class. But even though they knew each other as classmates, they all had specific, self-invented names to go by here. He was Evillustrator, she was Timebreaker, and the rest of their class who attended had their own.

He was by no means a good breakdancer. If anything, he was one of the worst and newest. But when he’d been invited by Alix to start dancing, he’d accepted wholeheartedly, knowing that it would at least be a good way to clear his mind. Except lately, it made things a little more complicated.

This time, when Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up, Nathaniel wasn’t nearly as excited as he usually was. He’d had a long-running crush on Ladybug ever since he’d started dancing, thinking she was so talented and pretty, and he’d been under the impression that she was the one he was meeting in the park earlier. But of course, it was Marc, and now he was probably the worst person in Paris that day. 

“Yo.” Alix whispered in his ear, startling his thoughts. “Check out the new guy.”

Nathaniel turned, noticing the newest member of the group for the first time. The person in question was wearing a half black, half white hoodie with matching leggings and boots that alternated the earlier colors. He had black makeup smeared around one half of his face with white mascara and eyeshadow, while the other side of his face was the opposite. His lips were painted too, a clean divide between the black and the white lipstick. He had the hood pulled over his hair, but the little bit Nathaniel could see was similarly black and white. Very di-chromatic.

There was also something about him that Nathaniel recognized, something that seemed so familiar. But he couldn’t figure out where he’d seen someone like that before, despite the answer seemingly being _right there_. . .

Nathaniel turned back to his friend, shrugging. “He seems cool.”

“Go talk to him, then.” Alix suggested.

So as the music started up, some sort of freestyle dance taking place, Nathaniel walked over towards the new guy, carefully so as not to disturb or annoy him. He was still just watching some of the other dancers, his expression blank. 

“Hey.” Nathaniel ventured. “Are you new here? I could maybe show you around?”

The person turned, flicking his eyes slightly downwards to meet Nathaniel’s. Now his colored contacts were obvious, one black and one white unsurprisingly. “Evillustrator, right?”

Taken aback slightly, Nathaniel nodded. No one knew him well enough to talk to others about him. Hardly anyone knew him in the first place. But here someone was, talking to him like he was one of the famous dancers or something. 

He pulled his hood back, revealing very symmetrical, black-and-white hair. “I’m Reverser.”

_Reverser._

Why did he seem so familiar?

“Hey, Reverser!” a voice called. The new dancer turned, his duo-toned lips twisting into a smile. It turned out to be Ladybug who’d called to him, waving him over towards the dance floor. “You want to be part of the next dance battle? It’d be versus our recent champion, Anansi.”

Anansi was a large, slightly terrifying girl that Nathaniel hadn’t properly met yet. And she was one of the newest here, but no one had wanted to challenge her yet since she’d terrified Syren, the last person who’d gone against her. 

Reverser raised an eyebrow. “Alright.”

And Nathaniel watched in rapt attention as the other boy pulled his hood back on and strode over towards the dance floor with a confidence in his walk that had taken the artist himself weeks to perfect. Reverser was so new, yet he seemed to at least know what he was doing.

When Anansi showed up, he half expected Reverser to bolt out of there, with the girl towering over him. But he just shook her hand, then let the two of them take a step backwards and get into position for the dance. Despite being short (though taller than Nathaniel) and fairly skinny, he had this androgynous punk energy that made him seem like an equal opponent.

Ladybug shot a thumbs-up over towards the DJ booth, prompting her friend Lady Wifi to choose a song for her boyfriend, the Bubbler, to play. Nathaniel carefully cast a glance up to the two of them, the dancers he knew were Alya and Nino, but they were either too focused on each other or didn’t care about Reverser’s strange presence. Or how familiar he looked. 

And Reverser didn’t crumble under the pressure either! He was an incredible dancer, pulling off moves that only someone with his light frame could accomplish. The way he was able to practically float in the air was especially impressive. 

Nathaniel felt his face grow warm as he watched the other’s moves. Oh god, did he think Reverser was hot now, too? He’d already had enough problems with crushes in that day alone to last a lifetime. He’d liked Ladybug, he’d liked Marc . . . this was just too much. 

He was so distracted by his rapid progression of thoughts that he almost didn’t hear Ladybug and Chat Noir proudly declare Reverser the winner. But when he looked up, Reverser was grinning over the crowd, eyes laser-focused on Nathaniel. Was that just his imagination? But no, the dancer really was watching him with a strange look in his gaze. 

Anansi shook Reverser’s hand again, agreeing that it was a fair fight despite her insistence that she’d “win next time, chessboard boy!”, which only caused him to smile again. He was about to head back, but Ladybug held out an arm, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Anyone else want to go against Reverser?” And then, out of the entire crowd, she opted to look straight at Nathaniel, her interest piqued. She tilted her head, a glint in her eye. “Evillustrator?”

Nathaniel shook his head, taking a step backwards. “No. I couldn’t.”

To be honest, he wasn’t really feeling like dancing, anyway. The day’s events lingered in his mind, sending him into a spiral of thoughts that all stemmed from his earlier meeting with Marc that went so poorly. And that wasn’t all, he felt so strange around Ladybug knowing that he’d let his little celebrity-ish crush go to his head. Honestly, Nathaniel sort of regretted showing up at all.

Ladybug didn’t press it either, just let Reverser go and moved on to a new duo. And Reverser did go—heading straight to one of the changing rooms. So he was done for the night, and Nathaniel never even got to have a proper conversation with him. Great. Maybe he should’ve taken up the opportunity to dance . . . that would’ve at least given him the possibility to shake Reverser’s hand and exchange a couple words.

But even then, his heart wouldn’t have been in it, and Reverser would’ve made him look like a weak dancer in comparison. Besides, he wanted to make things right with the boy he’d hurt earlier before he started trying to talk to another one.

“I’m heading home.” he muttered to Alix.

“What? Why?”

Nathaniel shrugged. “Just tired, I guess. Maybe I’ll see if Marinette has Marc’s number so I can text him. It feels wrong to let the whole thing sit overnight, and I’m not really up to dancing right now.”

Underneath her helmet, Alix’s eyes sparkled with concern. “Okay. But call me later, if you feel up to it.”

“Will do.”

After firing off a text to Marinette to ask for Marc’s phone number to apologize, Nathaniel made his way to the bathrooms. It’d been a few minutes since Reverser had stepped away from the dance floor, so even though he had a lot of makeup to take off, hopefully he’d already left so a conversation didn’t need to be held.

He opened the bathroom door, then froze.

Marc Anciel himself was standing in front of the mirror, a makeup wipe pressed to his cheek.

The scene flashed before Nathaniel’s eyes. Marc. Here. In the bathroom, taking makeup off. A wipe in his hand with a strange gray color stained across the front, an imperfect mixture of black and white paint—

_Reverser._

_He was Reverser._

“I—I’m—” Nathaniel stammered, his mind filling with panic. _Why_ was he unable to come up with the right words in the order he wanted? “Marc, I—I’m so sorry! Can I . . . can I talk to you? Just for a moment?”

Marc was frozen, still holding the wipe against his now-crimson cheek. “Um . . .”

“You don’t have to, but I just . . . I was such a jerk to you! And you’re here!” He wanted to kick himself for that one. Yeah, _of course_ Marc was here! Why did his glitching brain feel the need to state the obvious? He sighed. “I’m sorry, Marc. I really messed up in the park earlier. And I’ll buy you a new journal, even though it couldn’t replace your writing.”

“Thank you.” Marc bit his lip, staring into the mirror. “Um, you don’t have to buy anything for me. I’m okay.”

“No, I will! And—I didn’t know that you came here to dance?”

In the mirror, Nathaniel could see Marc purse his lips, a faraway look in his eyes. “I don’t. Marinette suggested it after the whole, um, _thing_ earlier. And I’ve been a fan of you—Evillustrator—for so long, I thought, it’d be cool to try I guess.”

“You were amazing!” Nathaniel blurted. “You won on your first try! And you looked really good while doing it! Honestly, if you wanted to keep coming here, you’d be great at it.”

“Nathaniel, you don’t have to pretend—”

“I’m not!” He intentionally softened his gaze, knowing it would probably not look as sincere with a face full of makeup. “Look, Marc, I know I messed up and that you don’t have to forgive me, but if you wanted . . . we could maybe meet up here tomorrow? And dance? I’ll bring the replacement journal, and I can explain about today if you want, though there’s not really an excuse for how terrible I was. But I think you’re a really incredible person, and I’d like to try and be friends . . . if you still want to.”

Marc paused for a moment, stopping Nathaniel’s heart. And then slowly, he nodded, a small smile crossing his lips. The look in his eyes softened.

“Okay. That sounds good.”

“Awesome!” Nathaniel exclaimed, grinning so much his face hurt. “I’ll see you then.” 

Just before heading to one of the other rooms to take off his makeup, he turned back to Marc to see the writer one last time to make sure things were okay, and caught up in the moment, he blurted, “You look amazing as Reverser, by the way.”

After bolting out of the room, he backed up against the wall, taking a deep breath, his face burning again. Why had he said _that?_ Now he just looked ridiculous, and possibly embarrassed himself beyond repair. Poor Marc was just getting over the events from before—why’d he have to go and mess it up?

After taking some time to wipe away his makeup and think things over, Nathaniel was ready to head home, hopefully to get some sleep so that things would seem better the next day. And he was about to push through the rusty door into the night when something hit him from behind. Nothing painful, just a light thump against his back, then the sound of paper hitting the floor.

He turned. A paper airplane sat on the ground.

Ordinarily he would’ve ignored it, but the way it hit him seemed intentional. So he picked it up and unwrapped the folded paper to reveal a note that he immediately recognized to be Marc’s cursive handwriting. 

_Nathaniel,_

_I’m not really good with speaking, so I wrote this note to say what I couldn’t before._

_Thanks for inviting me to come back. Tonight was fun and I enjoyed being good at something besides writing. I forgive you, and if you’re really serious, I want to try to be friends. It might be awkward for a little bit, but I still want to try. And you don’t have to get me a replacement journal, but I think you will even if I say don't, so if you really have to, please don’t spend more than a couple euros, okay?_

_\- Marc_

_P.S. You look amazing as Evillustrator, too :)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: breakdancing isn't something I know a ton about, so hopefully this works!


	14. Day 14 - Laugh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW for anxiety attack, though it's minimal

Nathaniel strode through the school, keeping an eye out for his boyfriend. When Marc hadn’t arrived to the art room that day, it wasn’t exactly a cause for concern, but when Marinette mentioned seeing him earlier, it sent his thoughts panicking anyway. What if he did something that offended Marc, making him not want to join the usual art club? The thought was heartbreaking and felt very unrealistic, and yet . . . he just didn’t want to risk anything.

But Marc was nowhere to be seen in any of the classrooms he passed, only raising Nathaniel’s worry. Did he leave? Maybe he’d gone home for the day. That wasn’t exactly a problem either, but whenever Marc went home early, he’d text Nathaniel so that he’d be aware that there was a change in plans. But he hadn’t gotten any sort of text or indication that the plans had changed. In fact, the day before, Marc had seemed pretty excited to work on the next couple pages of their comic since it was one of the most important scenes in their upcoming storyline. 

God, he didn’t want to seem like a clingy boyfriend. Their relationship was still so new. 

But if something had happened to Marc . . . 

He didn’t want to regret not checking up on him.

Nathaniel glanced down at the courtyard, trying to see if he could spot Marc. But there was no sign of him. He was about to give up and head back to the hallway of the art room to call him instead when he caught sight of a flash of red. From underneath the stairs . . .

He dashed down the stairs, running faster than he’d been prepared to, so by the time he arrived at the courtyard floor he was out of breath. Marc hadn’t even glanced up, focusing on something in his hand. Still trying to catch his breath, Nathaniel glanced over the writer’s shoulder to see that it was a phone.

“Marc?”

He didn’t turn at the sound of his name, but he noticeably cringed, his shoulders going stiff. And he lowered the phone so that Nathaniel couldn’t see what he was looking at.

“Hey, what’s wrong? I was so worried about you.”

“Um, it’s nothing.”

But his voice caught on his words.

So instead of guessing any longer, Nathaniel carefully crawled into Marc’s little haven under the stairs and sat next to him, far enough to make sure that it wasn’t an invasion of personal space but close enough to look supportive. And even though the writer kept his face bowed down, Nathaniel could now see a couple tearstreaks on his face.

“Oh, Marc.” And that’s all he could say, his heart sinking at the prospect of something having happened to the person he cared for so much. So when the writer reached forward and embraced him, he hugged him back, tightly. Tight enough that he desperately hoped it would prove his devotion, that he’d never let Marc go as long as he wanted to stay. He wasn’t going to let Marc suffer alone, especially not with the added threat of possible akumatization. 

Marc let go, taking a deep breath. “Sorry. I think I got some makeup on your jacket.”

Glancing up to meet his boyfriend’s eyes, Nathaniel immediately noticed the light streaks of mascara underneath Marc’s eyes. He handed Marc his water bottle, as he knew how exhausting crying could be, and the writer took it gratefully. “Forget my jacket. You _do_ have a little on your face though, did you want help . . . ?”

“No, it’s okay.” Marc shook his head, frowning grimly. He looked absolutely exhausted, with dark circles ringing his eyes. “I’ll probably go home anyway.”

Based on the way that he was avoiding whatever the issue was, Nathaniel wasn’t going to press for details. He knew his boyfriend struggled with anxiety, so he definitely didn’t want to accentuate anything, even accidentally. But he was prepared to help him, so he asked, “Can I walk you home, then?”

“Oh! I mean, yeah sure.” He glanced to the side, expression clearing. “But what about your school bag? Don’t you have to get your homework?”

“I’ll leave it in Room 33 and pick it up tomorrow. My homework’s done, besides physics, and we all knew I wasn’t going to do that worksheet anyway. I think if I actually did it, Mme. Mendeliev would have a heart attack.”

Marc bit his lip, desperately trying to hide a smile. And then, without much warning, he started to laugh, covering his mouth and ducking his head. 

The moment faded as soon as it started, but the aftermath lingered, Marc wiping the tears from his cheeks and attempting for a small grin in Nathaniel’s direction. The artist grinned back at him, hoping his body language said his unspoken words: _I promise I’ll be here for you. No matter what, I’ll be here if you need me._

And Marc seemed to understand, taking another deep breath as he got to his feet and began gathering his things, emotions finally seeming to even out. When he was ready to go, Nathaniel reached for his free hand and the two made their way out of the school and into the city streets. He squeezed Marc’s hand to let him know that he was still there, and Marc squeezed his hand back. 

A soft smile remained fixed on the writer’s face.

After making sure Marc was okay and safe at home, Nathaniel started off to his own house. But only after a couple of minutes, his walk was stopped by a notification from his phone, one that alerte him that he’d just gotten a text.

He opened his phone to see a message from Marc:

_“Hey Nath, thanks for being so sweet today. I had an anxiety attack today, and I really really appreciate you stopping to help me, that was so nice and caring. You’re the best boyfriend I could ask for, ily :)”_

Nathaniel smiled. And then sent a message back:

_“I really hope you’re doing better, and I’m just glad I could help! ily too!”_


	15. Day 15 - Favorite Season (Fall)

A coffee cup precariously balanced in each hand, Nathaniel stepped through the door of the cafe and into the cool air. He picked up his pace, speedwalking as fast as his legs could carry him without spilling the drinks. The chilly wind tossed through his hair, strands flying in the way of his vision. 

And he was going to be late.

Usually, he arrived at events right at the very last minute, muttering an apology and blending in with the crowd until he was ultimately forgotten. However, that wasn’t going to fly today. Even though he knew the person he was meeting would wholeheartedly accept his apology, he didn’t want to give them that anxiety and panic over if he were to show up at all. He wanted to be respectful, even if the way his brain was wired didn’t play well with time.

Racing into the park, out of breath, he caught sight of the person in question. Sitting on the side of the fountain, just as he had done so long ago and yet still too recently, waiting for him to show up. 

“Marc!” Nathaniel called out, alerting the other boy to his presence. 

At the sound of his name, Marc stood up and turned to face the newcomer. Instead of his usual hoodie and skinny jeans, he wore a maroon jean jacket over a white t-shirt and a black skirt with leggings, completing the outfit with combat boots, though not his usual ones. His bangs were pinned back, and his usual lip gloss was a slightly deeper shade of red.

Well. Now Nathaniel felt underdressed in his usual blazer, a black-and-white striped t-shirt, and dark jeans. Marc absolutely owned androgynous fall fashion, and he wasn’t even aware of it.

“You look incredible.” Nathaniel told him, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders. All too late he realized he was indeed still holding the coffees and definitely didn’t want to ruin Marc’s nice white shirt with the drinks he’d bought for the two of them. “Sorry! Sorry, here’s your coffee.”

Marc took it from his hand with a smile, then sipped it. “Aww, you remembered my creamer. Thanks, Nath.”

“Of course I remembered your creamer.” Nathaniel feigned shock, clutching his free hand over his heart in pretend horror. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I forgot?”

Marc rolled his eyes, grinning still. “Of course. Want to walk now?”

His question was answered by Nathaniel reaching for his hand and holding tightly, smiling over at the writer through the strands of hair still falling in over his whole face. And then they were off, making their way through the park among the falling leaves and cool air. Marc’s boots crunched on the leaves already on the ground, alerting the few birds to the boys’ presence and sending them flying away.

“Mr. Ramier would be disappointed.” Nathaniel remarked, watching the pigeons take off into the sky. He, like most of Paris, was very used to seeing the local pigeon man with his sack of bird food and probably being reprimanded by Officer Raincomprix.

Marc watched the birds fondly. “Maybe they’re making their way to him now.” 

“We can only hope.” Nathaniel said, hoping to catch Marc’s grin, as his boyfriend’s smile was one of the nicest he’d ever seen. He wasn’t disappointed, either. 

Something caught his eye then. The cityscape, with the trees surrounding the park with their swirls of warm, earthy colors, the soft grass . . . it was absolutely beautiful. He made a point to memorize how it looked so he could paint it later. It deserved to be replicated onto paper, or maybe even a canvas.

The breeze swept through, sending another wealth of leaves tossing to the ground.

Marc shivered slightly.

“Are you cold?” Without waiting for an answer, Nathaniel dropped his boyfriend’s hand to take his jacket off and place it around Marc’s shoulders. It was a little too small for Marc to wear it over his own jacket, but it worked well enough covering his upper arms. 

“God, Nath.” Marc shook his head in a teasing disbelief. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Acting like you haven’t given me your hoodie before when  _ I’m _ cold.”

“Still.”

Now that he wasn’t holding onto Marc’s hand, Nathaniel could see how amazing his boyfriend looked with the trees and cloudy sky as a backdrop. Marc always looked amazing, of course, but it was just the perfect setting for his current look, the leaves gently falling around his shoulders like a shower of confetti and the wind sweeping his hair to the side ever so slightly.

Scratch the earlier image. 

He absolutely needed to include Marc in the painting.

“What’s wrong?” Marc asked, tilting his head slightly when he caught onto the dreamy expression on Nathaniel’s face. 

“Oh, nothing. Just that you look amazing.” Nathaniel grinned.

“Nath!” Marc covered his mouth, his gesture doing nothing to hide the blush creeping over his cheeks.  _ “You _ look amazing.”

“I think that honor goes to you.”

And as they went back and forth, they continued to make their way through the sea of fallen leaves and crisp air, enjoying one of the last days of fall together.


	16. Day 16 - Opposite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't totally sure what to do for today, so hopefully this fits the prompt well enough!

“Marc and Nathaniel? By now you realize there was a big misunderstanding, but if you give each other a chance, I'm sure you'll find out how well you can work together.”

Nathaniel held out his hand, a small smile carefully crossing his lips. He knew just how much he’d messed up, it ran through his mind on replay, but Ladybug was right, if Marc could just give him a chance, he’d make it up to him—

“What?”

Nathaniel’s head shot up, his eyes meeting Marc’s. The writer’s expression filled with shock and horror, lips parted slightly, eyes widened, leaning backwards. He clutched his hands together.

“I—I don’t know—” Marc stammered. “I’m sorry, but I can’t, not after you—”

And with that, tears started forming in his eyes, cutting off his words.

Quickly retracting his hand, Nathaniel took a deep breath and nodded. He should’ve known,  _ how could he have been so stupid? _ “Yeah, I understand. You don’t have to forgive me or anything. Thanks anyway, though.”

Marc bit his lip, casting his eyes downwards. “Yeah.”

And before anything more could be said, Marc took off into the city. Nathaniel stood frozen in place as the writer disappeared into the crowds, his brightly colored hoodie slowly fading from sight until he was gone entirely. 

“Well . . .” Ladybug began grimly. “I’m sorry, Nathaniel.”

“No, it’s my fault. Thanks for saving him, and I’m glad I could help.” But he couldn’t hide the bitter tone in his voice. Not bitter at Marc, but bitter at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. 

Chat Noir bent down and picked up something from the ground. A small, black book with a couple pages hanging loose . . . “Is this his journal?”

Nodding, Nathaniel took it. “I’ll put it in his locker or ask Marinette to give it to him or something. Um, so I don’t make him uncomfortable or anything.” And he didn’t voice it, but his head was pounding with the shame of seeing the torn pages. The miraculous cure couldn’t fix everything, apparently. It could fix Reverser’s damage, but not Nathaniel’s.

Marc wasn’t a jerk. He wasn’t evil. The whole thing was a stupid misunderstanding, and due to Nathaniel’s awful actions, he’d lost any chances of working with the best writer he’d ever met. Not to mention, he ruined another possible relationship. 

Again.

The next day at school, Nathaniel found Marinette right away to hand off the journal. He’d thought of putting it in Marc’s locker, but since the writer’s locker was in a totally different location from Mme. Bustier’s class lockers, it would look really sketchy and obnoxious if someone saw him there. So he decided to avoid that by going straight to Marinette.

“How’s Marc?” Nathaniel ventured.

Marinette shrugged, taking the journal from him. “I haven’t seen him today. He said he was going to stop by the art room and talk to me, but he never showed up. So maybe he skipped today?”

And if Marc did skip, it was probably due to Nathaniel. Great. Another problem he caused that he knew he had no hope of fixing. “Okay. Thanks anyway, and I hope he’s doing better.”

But before Nathaniel could walk away, Marinette put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn. “Hey, Nath? You’re not a bad person, you just messed up, and the important thing is that you learn from it. I can’t promise you things with Marc will get better, but I can promise you that you’re not an awful human being.”

He wanted to argue, to insist that she should be the  _ last _ person to say that due to his behavior as Evillustrator, but he didn’t. Instead, all he said was, “Thanks, Marinette. See you later.”

And as he walked off towards his classroom, he fought off the negative emotions that arose. The last thing that anyone needed that day was for him to get akumatized again, and he had to be at school that day for a quiz in Mme. Mendeliev’s class. One he’d probably fail, but still. 

On instinct, he glanced towards the stairs that Marc tended to sit underneath. And did a double take when seeing the writer, holding what looked to be a new notebook as this one had a rainbow cover. He didn’t approach him out of respect, as Marc probably didn’t want anything to do with him now. But the strange emotions that ran through his mind the mixture of sadness and guilt, didn’t last for long. 

Not after seeing an akuma fly into the boy’s journal.

“Marc!” he cried, attempting to catch the writer’s attention. 

But this seemed to do nothing, as Marc froze, a neon pink butterfly mask appearing over his eyes. The journal hung limply from his hand. He didn’t look angry or determined. Just . . . scared. 

Nathaniel rushed forward, pushing through the crowds of people that he hardly paid attention to. Anything to get to Marc quickly. Anything to stop Hawkmoth’s influence. It was so traumatizing to be akumatized, he couldn’t imagine doing it  _ twice _ in  _ two days— _

Sliding to his knees, Nathaniel ducked underneath the stairs and held out his hands, not daring to touch Marc but not wanting to look intimidating either. He knew he looked concerned and disheveled—probably more like panicked—but he didn’t worry about that at the moment. 

“You can’t let him take advantage of your emotions!” Nathaniel insisted, looking Marc in the eye. Even though all was silent, he knew Hawkmoth was probably talking at that moment, telling Marc about how all of his desires would be fulfilled if he was willing to become Reverser again—which was obviously a lie. Hawkmoth didn’t care about his akumas, given the way he almost let Reverser fall to his death the day before, and the thought of Marc agreeing again was heartbreaking. “Whatever he’s saying, it’s  _ not true.” _

Marc closed his eyes and took a sharp breath. He didn’t respond.

“Look,” Nathaniel continued. “I know you hate me, and that’s okay. I’m so sorry, and I understand if you can’t forgive me. But you can’t let Hawkmoth win. He almost let you die yesterday, Marc, and I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

Marc seemed to consider this, tilting his head to the side. Or maybe he was considering something Hawkmoth was saying to him. Either way, his expression shifted to mild interest. That is, until he shook his head and dropped the journal.

_ “No, I’m not working for you again.” _

Nathaniel couldn’t tell who Marc was talking to until he saw the writer clutch his head, eyes shut tight in panic. So Hawkmoth wasn’t letting him go that easily. Nathaniel fought to urge to get closer to comfort him, but he did reach out his hands again. And this time, Marc ripped a hand away from his head, clutching Nathaniel’s tightly enough that his fingertips started turning white. A couple tears started forming in his eyes again as he held fast.

_ “I’m not working for you!” _ he repeated, louder this time.  _ “You can’t make me!” _

And a split-second later, the akuma flew away, the butterfly mask over Marc’s face disappearing. The writer let out a sharp breath, and his hold on Nathaniel’s hand loosened. He glanced to the side furtively, cheeks stained with red.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? That was . . . wow.”

Marc tilted his head again. “W-what do you mean?”

“I’ve never heard of someone resisting akumatization before.” Nathaniel told him. And a moment later, he thought to ask the obvious: “Are you okay? Did he . . . hurt you?”

“No, I’m okay. Thanks, though.” Marc bit his lip. “And thanks for helping me. I don’t think I would’ve wanted to fight back if you weren’t there. So um, I really appreciate it.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Of course. I’m really sorry, though. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you yesterday, and I was an idiot to think you were trying to hurt me. I just . . . I think you're a really incredible person, and the last time I thought that about someone, they tricked me. But that’s not really an excuse.”

Marc glanced down at their still-clutched hands and pulled his away. “I understand, though. And I forgive you.” He paused, pressing his lips together. “Look Nathaniel, I don’t  _ want _ to hate you. I think you’re, uh, really cool too, and I just wanted to impress you, even though your art is so much better than my writing.”

“What? No, your writing really is good! I thought it was the real thing, so that’s gotta mean something. You  _ did _ impress me, and I ruined everything.” He sighed, casting a glance over to Marc’s new journal. “If you’re willing, I’d still really like to work with you since you and your writing are amazing. But if not, I understand.”

Marc considered this. And after a moment or so, he glanced up, meeting Nathaniel’s eyes with his own emerald green ones. His shoulders were still stiff, but his expression was now slightly tinged with hope.

“Okay.” he murmured. “We can try.”

Nathaniel couldn’t hide his grin. “Awesome! I mean, thanks! Thank you for giving me a chance. I know I don’t deserve it, but I promise—” His voice cut off when he looked over and saw that Marc was also smiling, the sweetest smile that Nathaniel had ever seen. “I just . . . thanks.”

And this time, when Nathaniel held out his hand, Marc took it.


	17. Day 17 - Sleep

The bright sunlight shone against Marc’s closed eyes, causing him to shift his position as sleep faded away. He leaned against the pillow, only to realize that he couldn’t exactly turn all the way around due to there being an arm draped around his shoulders.

Dazed, he raised his head, only to see Nathaniel’s sleeping form hugged against his own.

The day before’s events passed through his thoughts in a blur. Going to Nathaniel’s house to work on their comic book. Being invited to stay for dinner by the artist’s incredibly sweet mother. Accidentally staying too late. Asked to sleep over by Nathaniel, who provided some sweatpants and one of his shirts as pajamas. Sleeping in the same bed due to limited space—

And now Nathaniel was hugging him in his sleep. Cuddling? Marc didn’t even dare to entertain the thought, but that’s what it seemed like! Why was Nathaniel unconsciously drawn to him like that? Sure, they were  _ friends, _ but that was it! 

But he didn’t exactly mind the way they’d fallen asleep. Nathaniel’s hair was really soft and his sleeping expression with a slight smile was pretty cute. Marc knew this would all come to an end once his friend woke up, but for now, he was content to let his crush snuggle up against him and embrace him like it was second nature.

It was nice, the way Nathaniel held him as if he was protecting and caring for him. And of course Nathaniel cared for him, this just felt a little bit more than platonic, and it sent Marc’s thoughts spiraling. His _crush_ was _holding him_ _in his sleep._ There wasn’t much more that could cause Marc to freak out.

That is, until Nathaniel himself woke up a couple minutes later.

He shifted, temporarily tightening his arms and leaning in closer until Marc could nearly smell his shampoo. And then he opened his eyes, blinking several times before realizing where exactly he was. He didn’t move though, not even after the realization and shock set in, so Marc didn’t move either. 

Marc was the first to speak. “I’m sorry.” 

“What are you sorry for?” Nathaniel mumbled, still half-asleep. 

“Um . . .” Marc attempted a shrug, but since he still had Nathaniel’s arms around him, it was just a weird gesture instead. “I guess the way we woke up?”

The artist’s expression twisted in concern. “Oh, I’m sorry. Do you want me to move?”

Nathaniel’s next question took Marc by surprise. Did he actually want him to move? Of course not. But that wasn’t the right answer, was it? Probably not. But in that case, why was Nathaniel asking?  _ Did  _ **_he_ ** _ want to stay like this? _

“No.” Marc confessed. “This is great.”

_ This was it. If Nathaniel found the answer weird, he was going to get up and leave, taking with him any chance that Marc had of the two of them being in a relationship, ever— _

“Okay. I’ll stay, then.”

And Marc was sure he’d died and gone to heaven when Nathaniel tightened his arms around the writer’s shoulders, burying his face in the pillow right by Marc’s neck. There was no way Nathaniel was just messing with him, he wasn’t that kind of guy.  _ So what was he doing? _

“Nath?” Marc tried to sound casual but it came out very strained. 

Nathaniel raised his head slightly, revealing his eyes to be half-closed. “Mmhm?”

“We’re, uh, kinda cuddling.”

“Um, I know.” Nathaniel cast his gaze away, sinking back into the pillow but still on eye level with Marc. He did loosen his arms, but even as he did so, his face flushed bright red. “You said it’s okay, but if you’re uncomfortable—”

“No!  _ I’m _ not. I thought  _ you _ were uncomfortable.”

“Not at all.” And if possible, his cheeks turned redder. “Um, Marc, if I got the wrong signals, I’m so sorry, but I kinda . . . like you. As more than friends. And I was kinda thinking you felt the same? At least, Alix told me that you do. But if not—”

“Yes! I like you too!” Marc could feel pressure in his brain rising, threatening to overwhelm. He was hardly aware of what he was saying, a total 180 from the amount of thought he’d put in earlier when Nathaniel was asleep. But the one thing he could process was that  _ his crush was reciprocated. His crush liked him too. His crush was still holding him in his arms and— _

“Oh, good. Is this okay, then?” He tightened his arms again, resting his head against Marc’s. He closed his eyes, appearing just as peaceful and sweet had he had when asleep. But Marc couldn’t focus on that, not when  _ his crush _ just  _ confessed to him _ and was  _ cuddling  _ with him, and gah, it was every bit as incredible as he’d imagined.

“Yeah. Thanks for asking, Nath.” And Marc couldn’t hide the smile creeping over his lips. He turned to rest himself even closer to Nathaniel, shaking his head to clear the artist’s strands of red hair from his eyes. And then he relaxed, content to be next to his crush—a crush that had become more than that. But they could figure out what exactly they were to each other later. For now, this was perfect.

And as the two of them drifted off to sleep once again, they continued to hold onto each other, unconscious grins on both of their faces, their breathing starting to rise and fall in sync.


	18. Day 18 - Pencil

_ “Can’t wait to work on the comic book tomorrow!! It was good to see you!” _

Nathaniel stared at the text he’d just sent for several minutes. Was that too forward? Usually he wasn’t this on edge about the texts he sent—he actually found them easier than talking in person—but since the other day’s events, he’d been desperately worried about how Marc perceived him. Was he still a jerk in Marc’s eyes, the writer only working with him out of pity and obligation? Or did Marc feel guilty and just wanted to work with him based on that? They’d worked together that day, and it seemed to go well, if a bit awkward. But that didn’t mean anything for how Marc felt. At this rate, none of his crushes would ever work out, and he’d be doomed to ruin every relationship he attempted.

After a few tedious minutes, Marc’s text bubble popped up, a message delivering a few moments later.  _ “Sounds great! It was good to see you too, I like seeing you!” _ And then a moment after that,  _ “I mean, you’re a really cool person! So it was fun to see you today!” _

Nathaniel bit his lip as he read that. Was he just paranoid, or did it seem like Marc was covering something up? Like, he was just trying to be nice? The artist’s heart sank. What if he was actually right and Marc was still upset?

But before he could think through that too much, Marc sent a third text, this one a lot more serious in tone:  _ “Hey Nathaniel, can I ask you a weird question?” _

Biting back any worry over what it could be, Nathaniel replied,  _ “Of course!! What’s up?” _

Marc's response took a bit, with the screen showing that he kept typing and stopping, then resuming typing again. Finally, he sent,  _ “It might be kind of stupid, but how do you get over being akumatized? I keep thinking about stuff, and I don’t even know what Reverser did, but I feel terrible if I hurt you or anyone . . . sorry if that’s too weird, I just don’t really know anyone else who’s been akumatized. Sorry.” _

A pang of guilt made its way to Nathaniel’s heart. In part, because he was the reason that Marc had gotten akumatized in the first place, and that was something he hadn’t fully processed, that he’d done something bad enough to cause someone to be vulnerable to Hawkmoth, just like Chloe. So he had at least a partial obligation to talk with Marc about it, and he hadn’t. Which seemed rude, in hindsight.

He cast his gaze up above his bookshelf. That was where he’d put the pencil that had gotten him akumatized into the Evillustrator, and it was probably still up there, gathering dust. Right after he’d gotten home from being akumatized, he’d just tossed the newly-fixed pencil up there, not wanting to think about any of it. And even now, after he’d gotten past the whole thing—even if he still felt guilty whenever Marinette was really nice to him—he didn’t dare use that pencil again. He just hadn’t wanted to think about it, even if he’d created a coping mechanism by turning his akuma into a hero-sona. 

That gave him an idea.

_ “Hey, Marc! Sorry it took a minute to get back to you. No, you didn’t hurt me, don’t worry about that, and please don’t feel terrible! It’s not your fault! And after I got akumatized, I turned my akuma into a hero, the main character of my drawings. You kinda know that though, lol. Would you want to do the same thing? We could add Reverser (or whatever you want to make his name) as Mightillustrator’s partner? Only if you want, ofc.” _

It took a bit for Marc’s reply again, and Nathaniel started to wonder if his answer wasn’t what the writer had been asking about. Maybe Marc just didn’t want to think about any of it! But he  _ did _ bring it up . . .

Finally, his phone dinged.  _ “It’s okay! Thanks for telling me, sorry if I bothered you. I think if you want, I’d like if we added Reverser to the comic? If it’s okay, we can just keep his name since it doesn’t have the word ‘evil’ in it like yours, haha. And . . . partners?” _

A small smile crossed Nathaniel’s face. It was nice to see that Marc was comfortable enough to lightly tease him about Evillustrator’s name change, as he really didn’t want to be unapproachable or anything after all that happened. 

_ “You never bother me! And that sounds good. Yeah, we can’t have a superhero with ‘evil’ in his name, lol. And yeah, partners. If that’s okay with you!!” _

Marc’s response was a lot faster than expected.  _ “Okay, good to know! But wait, team partners? Friends? Or . . . did you mean something else?” _ And a moment later,  _ “Anything’s fine by me! I was just wondering what you thought.” _

Oh.

Nathaniel took a deep breath, deciding all at once in that moment to make his feelings a bit more clear. Clear, but ambiguous enough that Marc had plenty of space to back out if he didn’t feel the same way, which was fairly likely. 

_ “Whatever you want! Anything that won’t make you uncomfortable.”  _ Yeah, maybe that was a little too ambiguous. So he casually added,  _ “What would your thoughts be on Mightillustrator’s crush on Ladybug going away, and then we pair Ladybug and Chat Noir as a couple?” _

_ “Then who does Mightillustrator like? . . . Reverser?” _

Well, no going back now.  _ “Only if you want.” _

After a couple minutes of waiting for Marc’s reply, Nathaniel’s phone finally dinged with a notification.  _ “Yeah! I mean, if you’re okay with that. It could be a whole storyline if we want . . . since our first comic would probably have to turn Reverser into a hero or something.”  _

Letting out the breath he’d been holding, Nathaniel finally felt his heart rate decrease. Okay, so Marc didn’t think that was a weird idea, good. But what did that mean for the two of them? Could it be that Marc felt the same way Nathaniel did, that his crush was returned? He quickly replied with,  _ “Let’s do that! Maybe we could have Mightillustrator save him from being akumatized and they become a great team? Then we could just go from there.” _

_ “Okay! Hey, I gtg, but I can’t wait to work on this tomorrow. See you then! :)” _

_ “I can’t wait either! See you too!” _

Unable to hide his smile, Nathaniel set his phone to the side. 

And then a thought crossed his mind.

Stepping onto his swivel chair, Nathaniel carefully held onto the side of his desk for support. He made sure he was close enough to the bookshelf that he could touch the top of it, even with his shorter stature. And then, reaching a tentative hand upwards, he fished around for the pencil that he was sure he’d find there.

Gotcha. 

After making sure he didn’t fall, he made his way back down to the floor and wiped the dust off of the pencil. It was still sharpened and ready for use, if a bit chipped. The fissure that had been made when he was de-akumatized had disappeared entirely. 

For the first time since the Evillustrator incident, he thought maybe . . . maybe at some point one of his crushes would work out. And he couldn’t fully tell with Marc yet. He’d give him time. But the chances didn’t seem to be nonexistent, and he was at peace with that.

Nathaniel took a seat in his desk chair again, the words of Marc’s last text playing in his head like poetry, and poised the pencil over a blank sheet of paper. He still needed his writer for the plot, but there was no harm in doing some concept art of this new development in the world of Mightillustrator and Reverser.

After all, they had a new comic book storyline to work on.


	19. Day 19 - Concentrate

_ Concentrate. _

Marc clutched his journal in his shaking hands. One paper was torn out, not the one that had been torn out so long ago, but a new one that he hand gently resting on the cover of the small notebook, covered with pencil smears and lines of his cursive scrawl.

He faced the art room door, staring up at the window that let a stream of light into the dim hallway. That one door was where he’d waited the first time he’d attempted to join a group, the first time he’d branched out beyond his small friend group, the first time he’d met his best friend and comic book partner. And now here he was again, terrified to lose all of that.

_ Concentrate. _

Why had he listened to Marinette and gone ahead to write his love confession? As nice as Marinette was, she could be wrong, as evidenced that time she’d tried to get him and Nathaniel together. So it was very possible that she was wrong about Nathaniel liking him back. In fact, how common was it that someone’s secret crush liked them back? It had to be rare, it  _ had  _ to.

He reached out a trembling hand and pushed open the door.

Right away, he noticed the room was almost devoid of people. Marinette wasn’t there for some reason, and neither was Alix or the art teacher. So it was just Juleka and Rose cuddling and listening to their new single and . . . Nathaniel.

Great. Marc had honestly been hoping that the artist was absent that day so he wouldn’t have to go through with his plan. But now he couldn’t back out of it, not while he was holding the note itself. 

Nathaniel glanced up from his drawing. “Oh, Marc! Hey!”

It was hard not to get lost in seeing his crush’s kind smile, his brilliant blue eyes, the way his hair gently fell over one side of his face when he tilted his head . . . 

_ Concentrate. _

“Hi, Nath.” Marc walked over to the empty seat next to the artist, causing his heart to slam against his ribcage. Was he really doing this? Was he really going to risk his friendship for the sake of a crush? Why couldn’t he be satisfied with just being friends? “What are you working on?”

“The next page, want to see?” Nathaniel slid over the drawing of Mightillustrator and Reverser fighting Lady Wifi. They had each other’s backs, deflecting and calling to each other to dodge the villain’s technological projectiles. And while this issue’s storyline had been a difficult fight for the four heroes, the two akuma-turned-heroes looked at each other with a sense of triumph and trust. “Do you like it? I wasn’t sure how I felt about Reverser’s expression.”

“No, I think it’s good!” But Marc could see what he meant. The way Reverser looked at Mightillustrator . . . it seemed to be more than just teammates or even just platonic. His grin and optimistic glint in his eyes weren’t able to hide the way that he looked at the artist like he was his world.

Was that how Nathaniel saw Marc?

“Oh, okay. Thanks!” Nathaniel cast a small smile over towards the journal still pressed against Marc’s chest. “Is that paper the next part of our storyline?”

A pang ran through Marc’s heart. It would be so easy to dismiss his confession as just another page, it’d be so easy to just pretend it wasn’t happening. Then he could avoid any potential heartbreak or shame.

_ Concentrate. _

“Um, no. It’s not.” And before he lost his nerve, he grabbed the paper and held it out.

Nathaniel took it gingerly, curiosity taking over his expression. Then he cast his eyes downward, skimming over the paper and its contents. Marc squeezed his eyes shut tight. Now was the moment of reckoning, the moment where Marc was either going to get rejected miserably or—

“Marc?”

He didn’t dare open his eyes. He didn’t want to see Nathaniel’s expression.

“Marc, are you okay? I read it.” Something dawned in his tone. “Hey, I’m not upset, I like you too! Okay? I’ve had a crush on you for a while now. There’s nothing to worry about!”

Wait, what?

Marc blinked, attempting to assess what had just been said. Nathaniel’s words seemed so distant and faraway that he could hardly process their meaning, couldn’t understand or believe them.

_ Concentrate. _

Nathaniel liked him.

_ Nathaniel liked him.  _

Marc opened his eyes, meeting Nathaniel’s gentle teal ones. Eyes filled with so much kindness and sympathy, understanding and seeing Marc’s anxiety rise, attempting to fight it off with one sweet glance. And it worked.

From Nathaniel's expression alone, Marc could see that he wasn’t joking, he wasn’t just attempting to pretend in order to keep Marc happy. He genuinely, truly felt the same way.  _ He liked Marc the way Marc liked him. _

And in that moment, everything changed for the two of them.


	20. Day 20 - Disagreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is technically a sequel to Day 7, but only tangibly.

_ “Watch out, Mightillustrator!” _

The artist hero ducked to the side, just barely missing another one of the villain’s newly-chosen zombie minions. Crouching behind a bush, he watched as Reverser veered right, the crowd of zombies slightly reaching the bottom of his hoverboard but not affecting him otherwise. He let out a breath, biting his lip in anticipation. 

Mightillustrator had lost his pen a bit ago, and now he was essentially useless against the villain in question, Zombizou. How his teacher had gotten akumatized was beyond him, he just had to defeat the villain enough for Ladybug to de-akumatize her. But that was proving harder than he’d expected. 

“Reverser!” He attempted to get the hero’s attention. “A little help?”

But the duo-chromatic hero was focused more on the approaching forms of Ladybug and Chat Noir, having just gotten a group of civilians to safety and away from the akumatized villain. That was his and Reverser’s cue to let the main heroes take over the akuma fight, and for him and Reverser to continue damage control, whatever that entailed. Since the miraculous cure fixed everything, they didn’t have to save buildings, but figuring out a way to help less people become kissing zombies would be useful.

While the villain was distracted by Ladybug and Chat Noir jumping into the fight, Reverser swung down on his hoverboard and offered Mightillustrator a hand.

“Took you long enough.” Mightillustrator teased.

Reverser, while a genuinely nice and shy person, was not one for jokes. So instead of granting Mightillustrator the privilege of a response, he rolled his eyes and yanked the other hero onto the back of his hoverboard. As they took off into the sky, Mightillustrator clung to Reverser’s shoulders, terrified that he was going to end up plummeting from the sky. His jetpacks and wings were one thing, but a less-controllable hoverboard was another. How did Reverser do this all the time?

They landed in the courtyard of the school where Zombizou had made her first appearance, surrounded by the group of zombified students all banging on the walls. Mightillustrator recognized a few of his classmates, which caused him to frown in distaste. He’d been brainwashed by a villain before when fighting Puppeteer—long before Reverser joined the team—and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“Where’s your pen?” was the first thing Reverser asked. Demanded, more like.

Mightillustrator paused, automatically glancing around to try and find it. Right, he’d dropped it while diving to miss the zombies. “Oh. I think I lost it somewhere. It’s fine though, it’ll reappear when Ladybug performs the miraculous cure.”

“You mean,  _ if _ she does. You can’t count on her winning every time.”

Reverser’s words weren’t exactly super surprising, since he was a bit of a pessimist. But the thing that did slightly irritate Mightillustrator was his past celebrity crush being disbelieved in. Even though he knew that his partner wasn’t trying to be a jerk, his anger still rose. 

“You  _ can’t _ be serious.  _ She always wins.” _

Reverser tilted his head slightly, his hair gently spilling out of his hood. “Mightillustrator, I’m not trying to be difficult. I just don’t think you should rely on her winning to bring back your pen. Some of the akumas are getting more difficult to defeat.”

“Reverser,  _ what _ are you talking about?” He stopped himself from clenching his fists. He hated the thought of his current crush talking poorly about his past crush, even though he knew it was stupid and that Reverser’s intention wasn’t to be insulting. But the pain of rejection was still just as poignant as ever, and that caused his emotions to run wild. “Look, I know you’re new, but you have to trust in Ladybug. She and Chat Noir have defeated every single akuma so far, and that includes  _ both of us.” _

Casting his eyes downward, Reverser kicked one of his boots against the cement ground, lips pressed tightly together. “We don’t have time for this.” he mumbled. “We have to help defeat Zombizou.”

“Ah yes, of course you do!” a triumphant voice cried. Mightillustrator and Reverser glanced up to meet the haughty stare of the akuma for just a split second before fists slammed on the door at the far end of the courtyard, courtesy of the zombified students, all clamoring for a kiss. Mightillustrator cursed himself internally. If only he hadn’t been so focused on his emotions! 

Gritting his teeth together, Mightillustrator turned back, terrified to see the irritable expression he knew would be on Reverser’s face. And sure enough, the other hero cast his gaze to the side, looking disappointed. Mightillustrator felt sick. Why had he been focusing on defending Ladybug’s honor over his friend—the person he loved and trusted most?

“Mightillustrator! Reverser!”

Speak of the devil.

He glanced up at the sound of his name. Ladybug and Chat Noir, running together down the center of the rooftop, chasing after Zombizou. It was Ladybug who’d yelled, and now that she’d gotten their attention, she exclaimed, “We haven’t figured out how to stop her yet, and we have to protect Mme. Bustier’s class! Stay close behind in case we need you!”

Chat Noir added, “Watch out, the city’s being overrun!”

Sure enough, the zombies had burst through the door, heading directly towards the other two heroes and demanding kisses. At this point, Reverser was clearly starting to panic, his breathing increasing and his movements becoming shaky, and Mightillustrator wasn’t faring much better. But Ladybug and Chat Noir’s advice had merit, and he wasn’t about to let this fate happen to either of them. 

“Hey, Reverser. I’m sorry I was so rude.” he said, offering a hand. “You’re right, we won’t win unless we work together and try. Is that okay? I know I don’t have my pen, but I promise I’ll do my best to keep you safe.”

Reverser nodded, reaching to take the outstretched hand. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Rather than hang around the infected courtyard, Reverser stepped back onto his hoverboard, still holding Mightillustrator’s hand to pull him onto the back. They took off, lifting far above all the zombies down below. 

“How do you do this all the time?” Mightillustrator attempted to shout over the wind, clutching onto Reverser’s back for dear life. “Aren’t you scared you’ll fall?”

“No.” Reverser replied, turning slightly to show off his grin. “It’s  _ my _ hoverboard.”

They stopped on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower with a rough landing, causing Reverser’s hoverboard to crumple slightly. But they couldn’t pay attention to that now, as they’d arrived where the battle was taking place. Or at least, the run from the hoards of zombified Parisians. Ladybug was carrying someone—was that Chloe Bourgeois?—and Chat Noir was fending off a group of other students. Mightillustrator could recognize Kim and Max. 

“It’s her lipstick.” Reverser mused. “Her lipstick is what turns them into zombies.”

Mightillustrator didn’t answer. He’d caught sight of something from over Reverser’s shoulder, something that sent a chill down his spine. Zombizou had caught their attention, as was now heading towards them with a group of her zombies. 

Reverser turned, only for his eyes to widen at the realization. He glanced back to his hoverboard, only to mutter a string of curses underneath his breath when he saw how out-of-shape it was. And the pen was still missing . . . “What should we do, Mightillustrator?”

And he had an idea. The chances of it working weren’t great, but it was their chance.

“Can I kiss you?”

Blinking, Reverser tilted his head in surprise. But realization quickly dawned on his face, and he nodded. 

Mightillustrator leaned forward and cupped the other hero’s face with both hands. And then he closed the gap, pressing their lips together. Reverser seemed hesitant at first, but after a moment, he took a sharp breath and relaxed into the kiss. As the sound of footsteps approached, Mightillustrator wrapped a protective arm around his partner, pulling the two of them closer together.

From a distance, they could clearly hear Zombizou call out, “Your teammates have succumbed to my kisses, Ladybug! What are you going to do now?”

It worked. They’d fooled her.

Reverser stepped backwards, eyes angled downwards and cheeks light gray. He was  _ blushing? _ What did that mean? “That was, um . . .”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you before. That wasn’t cool.” Mightillustrator told him, attempting to make his expression look as sincere as he could. He could feel his cheeks growing hot, so he was probably blushing too, though thankfully it was less obvious with his skin tone. “You’re one of my best friends, and I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything.”

“I’m not uncomfortable.” Reverser insisted. “Thanks though.”

Mightillustrator glanced back to Ladybug, who was completely surrounded, Chat Noir having also fallen victim to the kissing zombies. And then did a double take when seeing the lucky charm in her hand. “That’s a makeup wipe, right?”

Reverser nodded. “Yeah, that’s the kind I use. Oh! It’s to remove the lipstick.”

But she couldn’t do anything now, not while being watched, as Zombizou would probably block it if she tossed it and Ladybug couldn’t get through the crowd of zombies to approach her. Mightillustrator and Reverser probably couldn’t get there in time . . . but there was one thing they could do.

“What if Zombizou was distracted?” Mightillustrator suggested.

Reverser took the hint, a smile crossing his lips. “Got it.” A paper airplane formed between his fingertips. He held it near his eyes, aiming for the akumatized villain. “From attentive to absentminded,  _ reversion!” _

Mightillustrator watched his friend, the person he’d helped escape villainy, the person who’d always had his back when he was in danger, the person that he always looked forward to seeing. Arguing with him, even over something important, made him sick to his stomach, and he never wanted to feel that way again. He also would quite like to kiss Reverser again, even though he knew it was a long shot at best. His relationships never seemed to work, but there was something about his partner’s reaction to their kiss, something that convinced him that there was a sliver of hope that his feelings might be reciprocated. But even if he was just going to pine in secret, he knew he never wanted to challenge their fire-forged friendship ever again.

And then Reverser flung the airplane, making it fly straight towards its target.


	21. Day 21 - Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is directly a sequel to Day 4, so you might want to reread that one for this to make sense since it's been a bit.

The sky had become an inky black, only nullified by the bright lights of the city. The streets filled with people milling about, most out for the night or tourists looking to see the Eiffel Tower in all its nighttime glory. The akuma attack hadn’t drawn too much attention, so the city was as busy as ever.

Marc ignored them all, pushing through the crowd with his arms tightly clutched against his chest. His breath caught multiple times, but he kept running, not daring to stop or daring to think through anything that had happened. He blinked back the tears forming in his eyes as he got as far from the Seine as possible.

He could still picture his date that night. He’d been so cautious, not wanting to get involved with an akumatized villain or getting his hopes up that his crush liked him back, but he’d done it anyway. And honestly, it was like magic. The Evillustrator was a charming, sweet person, just like Nathaniel, but much more overt about his feelings and intentions. And as much as he’d tried to convince himself that the villain’s words were just a side effect of being akumatized, he let it become more. 

He’d actually been starting to enjoy the night too, the villain showering him with affection and gifts, anything he could possibly ever want. He hated the fact that he’d grown attached to the akuma’s sweet gestures, but it was comforting, to say the least, that his friend seemed to care so much for him even while working for Hawkmoth. 

And to add to all that, when Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up, the Evillustrator’s priority remained the same. He hadn’t tried to fight back right away, hadn’t even gone straight to stealing the miraculouses. His first instinct had been to look Marc dead in the eye, concern filling his expression, and then cry out, “Marc, _run!”_

So Marc did just that. He ran as fast as he could away from the akuma fight. Not only was it uncomfortable to see his friend aggressively fought like that—even if he _was_ akumatized—but Marc didn’t want to be there when Nathaniel was de-akumatized. He didn’t want to ask the question he knew he needed to.

_Did Nathaniel actually like him?_

From his pocket, Marc’s phone vibrated. He picked it up, only to immediately stiffen when seeing that it was a text from Nathaniel. The fight must’ve ended, and now they were left to pick up the pieces from what had been said. 

He chose to avoid answering the first text and just continue his way home, but after a few more notifications, he couldn’t bear to ignore Nathaniel anymore. It wasn’t fair. After he’d been Reverser, he wanted to know what happened and what he did to Nathaniel and Marinette, so it was only right that he did the same for his likely-hurting friend. So he opened his phone and started to read through the string of texts:

_“Hey Marc, I heard you were involved in the akuma attack. Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I? I just want to make sure that you’re alright.”_

_“Okay, this might be weird to ask, but Ladybug said something about us being on a date while I was akumatized . . . was that something that happened? If it did, I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything.”_

_“Hey, can we talk in-person? I’m at home now, and you’re welcome to stop by any time.”_

_“You totally don’t have to if you’re upset, though. I understand.”_

Nathaniel’s apartment was only a couple blocks away from where Marc was now. Even though his anxiety was gradually rising, it was better to go and talk to his comic book partner—his _friend_ —now, not make things awkward the next day at school.

So Marc switched directions and headed straight to Nathaniel’s apartment, every step drawing closer to what he was certain would be a conversation he wasn’t prepared to have. If Nathaniel’s texts were anything to go by, he was apologetic, not reciprocating feelings. Right?

At Nathaniel’s front door, Marc knocked a couple times. And almost right away, Nathaniel answered, holding the door open and letting the light breeze into his house. He didn’t move though, just carefully watched Marc’s face with an uncertain glint in his eyes. Marc couldn't move either, not until Nathaniel broke the silence to say, “Hey, Marc. Come in.”

His voice was hoarse and tired-sounding. Marc didn’t know what to make of that.

They headed to Nathaniel’s room, Marc absently noticing that as per usual, Nathaniel’s mother was working the night shift, and the rooms and hallway were all dark and void of any sort of commotion. The thought of coming back to such a quiet house after being akumatized sent a pang through his heart.

Arriving in the artist’s room, Marc took a seat on the floor, and Nathaniel sat about a meter away from him, leaning against his bed and absentmindedly fiddling with a pencil. Possibly the pencil that had been his akumatized object.

“Are you okay?” Nathaniel asked, concern edging his words.

Marc nodded, maybe a little too much. “Yeah, it’s alright! You didn’t hurt me or anything, so don’t worry about that. Actually, it was kind of the opposite.”

This didn’t seem to end Nathaniel’s worry though, as he immediately tilted his head to the side and asked, “The opposite? You mean . . . the date Ladybug was talking about? What . . . what exactly happened?”

Marc didn’t want to make this any more awkward than it already was, but he remembered one major thing from his public speaking class: communication is key. And either way, Nathaniel deserved to know.

“Well, you showed up to my room with flowers—red roses—and said that you defended me from something that Lila Rossi said about me. Plagiarism rumors or something like that.”

“Oh, I remember _that.”_ Nathaniel muttered darkly. 

“Yeah. And then I met up with y—Evillustrator that night on a date, right by the Seine. You . . . you were really sweet and kind to me. You gave me a lot of affection and told me that you’ve liked me for a long time. And then when Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up . . . you told me to run, so I did.” He paused to take a breath. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it was just akuma side effects making you say—”

“I have.”

Marc froze, eyes widening. “What?”

“I have liked you for a long time.” Nathaniel bit his lip, glancing away. “I’m not sure what all was said, but anything the Evillustrator said about having a crush on you . . . it’s true. I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable, though.”

_“You’ve liked me?”_

Nathaniel nodded grimly. “Yeah. Ever since you were de-akumatized, I’ve thought you were incredible and amazing and just . . . wow. But I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do anything that made you upset—”

Quickly raising his hands in protest, Marc exclaimed, “No, not at all! I like you too!”

Nathaniel flicked his eyes upward to meet Marc’s. “Really? If not, you don’t have to pretend—”

“I’m not pretending. I’ve had a crush on you since before we met, and that’s why I kept writing stories based on your artwork.” Marc wiped his gloves, which had now become damp with sweat, on his legs. First Evillustrator, and now Nathaniel, both confirming that he truly did like Marc . . . it was almost too much to take in. “And I, um, kind of enjoyed the date.”

Expression softening, Nathaniel visibly relaxed. “Oh. Oh good, I’m so glad—wait, so we both like each other? And I guess we’ve been on a date . . . though I don’t remember any of it, but you do . . . could I take you on another date sometime?”

“Yes!” Marc exclaimed. “I’d love that!”

“Oh, awesome!” Nathaniel sighed in relief. “I have to admit, I was so scared . . . I thought I ruined our friendship by going on a date with you, and that you wouldn’t like me the way I like you . . . that kind of thing happened with Marinette.” He shrugged. “You’re one of my best friends and favorite people, and I just—I just didn’t want to lose you.”

Marc’s heart ached upon hearing the artist’s words, so in response, he moved to sit right next to Nathaniel and look him in the eye. “You won’t lose me.”

Nathaniel didn’t respond at first, just smiled and carefully rested against Marc’s shoulder, hardly putting any of his weight against him. Hardly able to process that this was _actually_ happening, Marc rested his head on Nathaniel’s shoulder, causing the artist to cover his grin and glance away, face tinted red. And Marc couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t expected this night—their talk, especially—to take such a wonderful turn.

“Hey, Marc?”

Turning slightly, the writer replied with, “Mmhm?”

Nathaniel fidgeted with his hands, clearly uncertain. “Did Evillustrator, um, kiss you?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Okay, that’s good. I wanted to remember my first kiss.” He paused for a moment, watching Marc’s expression, a serious tone evident in his eyes. “Do you mind? If I kissed you, I mean? If not, it’s totally okay! I just was wondering . . .”

Desperately hoping that the room was just warm and that his tendency to blush wasn’t the reason that his cheeks were growing warm, Marc nodded. “I’d like that.”

Nathaniel turned to face Marc, gently placing one hand against the back of the writer’s head. Marc could feel his heart banging against his ribcage, his breathing increasing rapidly, but this time he knew it was just due to jitters and not his anxiety. 

And everything culminated when Nathaniel’s lips met his.

Their kiss was awkward and a little messy, with their teeth accidentally clashing and forcing them apart. Nathaniel seemed slightly tentative, but before he could say anything, Marc leaned in once more and they kissed again, this time much better. It was like magic, like they were meant to have done this all along. Like they were meant to be together.

“Wow.” Marc murmured when he finally pulled away. “Thank you.”

“Did you just thank me for kissing you? You’re so cute.” Nathaniel teased, brushing a lock of hair from Marc’s eyes. “And I’m so glad I can finally tell you that. So are we . . . ?”

“Dating?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d—I’d like to. If you want?”

“I do. I really do.”

Marc nodded, a smile crossing his lips. “Okay.”

And with that, their relationship began, leaving behind the awkward tension from silent pining, the unspoken declarations, the desire and longing. Now they knew they shared the same feelings, turning one of the most anxiety-filled nights either of them ever had into one of the best.


	22. Day 22 - Favorite Animal (Cat)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cats are my favorite . . . so this was fairly easy.

Nathaniel crouched down, hiding at the top of the roof as he watched the akuma battle from a safe distance. Well, a safe-ish distance. What really mattered was the information he was getting, which alternated between quick sketches and notes. Marc was absolutely going to  _ love _ this new set of ideas for their next comic book issue.

The akuma in question was a strange one, made entirely of fire and what appeared to be lava, and the heroes had come up with some kind of fire power-up to combat this. Their suits had transformed, and Nathaniel was desperately trying to get a good view of what the differences were so he could sketch them out. Maybe he could give Mightillustrator and Reverser a fire power-up too! Or maybe not Reverser . . . fire and paper didn’t mix well. 

He ducked out of the way as a flaming piece of concrete flew past his head, the projectile intended to be aimed at Ladybug. That was close. But he was fine, he was definitely going to stay to get the new wealth of ideas . . . and then Marc would be so impressed!

He had to admit, doubts were starting to cross his mind as the area near the bottom of the building he was on the roof of caught on fire, effectively giving him no way out in case of danger. And sure, his heart rate definitely sped up at that. But he had faith in Ladybug and Chat Noir, and besides, when would he be this close to a fight and still able to take notes again?

It was only when he heard the usual  _ “Miraculous ladybug!” _ and saw the swarm of little red ladybugs cleaning up the city that he felt comfortable clambering to his feet to survey the end results of the fight. The akuma had been a young woman, who Ladybug was currently talking with, and any signs of the fight were nonexistent. Even the newly acquired fire power-ups had been dialed back, replaced by the heroes’ usual costumes.

“Nathaniel?”

The artist jumped at the sound of his name, only to breathe again when he realized it was just Chat Noir, who’d apparently just flung himself onto the back of the roof with his staff. “Oh! You scared me, sorry.”

But Chat Noir didn’t seem too concerned by that. He tilted his head sideways in a way that made him seem like an actual cat, and Nathaniel stifled a giggle. “What’re you doing here? It’d be pretty  _ claw-ful _ if you got hurt.” And then, after lowering his voice and losing the joking tone, he added, “Seriously though, you shouldn’t be so close to an akuma attack. I love the comics, but you’re not  _ actually _ a superhero.”

“What about Alya?” Nathaniel protested, as the reporter girl had never been asked not to get so close to a fight . . . as least as far as he knew. And sure enough, she was one rooftop over, holding out her phone and excitedly explaining what had just happened.

“Ladybug’s asked her the same thing, but she doesn’t stop. Nice drawings, though.” Chat Noir pointed down at the page full of sketches of the heroes, the akuma . . . and yeah, a couple drawings of Mightillustrator and Reverser with possible fire additions. It was kind of embarrassing that one of the actual heroes had seen his rough draft, which included self-inserts, but Chat Noir’s interested expression seemed genuine. 

Nathaniel started to gather his drawing utensils. “Thanks.” 

“So, how come you’re taking notes? Looking to start a blog to rival Alya’s?”

“Oh no.” Nathaniel replied, his flustered tone becoming more obvious despite his attempts to combat it. “I’m taking notes for the comic books. It’s one thing to see it on TV, but seeing it firsthand will be a lot more helpful . . . and Marc’ll be so impressed.”

Something registered in Chat Noir’s eyes, and he grinned. “Ah, I know the feeling. Or should I say, the  _ feline?” _ After a quick laugh at his own pun, he continued, “I’ve tried to impress my crush almost every day.”

Almost stunned into silence, Nathaniel raised his head sharply. “How’d you know I like him?”

“Oh, I didn’t! I was just making a comparison, thought you were impressing a friend! In that case, it looks like we’re both doomed to pine after brunettes that don’t notice our feelings for them.” He shook his head, a bit overdramatically. “Tragic, really.”

“So what I’m hearing is I shouldn’t bother with getting firsthand notes and ideas since he still won’t see that I like him.” Nathaniel said, starting to mentally kick himself. He’d been thinking that all along, to be honest, but the desire to see Marc’s cute expression light up with joy overcame that. 

“I think you should just tell him.”

Startled, Nathaniel glanced up. “Huh?”

“You know.” Chat Noir shrugged. “Maybe he likes you too. You’ll never know unless you try, though. And trust me—” he winked “—I’ve tried with Ladybug. Sure, it hasn’t worked for  _ me, _ but like I said, you never know.”

Nathaniel considered this. Maybe he was right. He’d been trying for so long to just get Marc to notice his feelings by impressing him, but that was under the impression that Marc would be the one to make the first move. Which was, he had to admit, uncharacteristic of the writer. Maybe there was a better way of going about this, and yeah, maybe it was just outright admitting how he felt. Sure, it might be a rejection, but it was better than pining forever, and Alix always said that she definitely thought Marc had a huge crush on him, anyway.

“Thanks.” Nathaniel nodded. “I might give that a try.”

“Sure.” Chat Noir’s ring beeped, catching his attention. “Sorry, gotta go. But good luck! And try not to hang around akuma fights anymore, if you can help it. Wouldn’t wanna cause a  _ cat-astrophe.” _

Nathaniel rolled his eyes and his a laugh at the stupid pun, but still managed to wave as Chat Noir leapt off the building, presumably to find a spot to de-transform.

He was right.

Nathaniel was going to have to tell Marc.

The next day in class, Adrien Agreste watched as Marc stopped by before class, as he tended to, and Nathaniel held out the pages of sketches and notes. And then, the artist blushed deeply, saying something with his head tilted downwards. His words were quiet, but it was easy to guess what was said based on Marc’s happy response, leaning in to hug him and kiss his cheek with a face equally tinted red.

Adrien smiled. Even if he hadn’t been able to make things work with any of his crushes as of yet, he was glad to see others find the same type of happiness. And glad to help contribute advice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I had to google "cat puns".


	23. Day 23 - Dare

_. . . Ladybug and Chat Noir will be in the front obviously, and then I’ll add Mightillustrator here—just next to Ladybug—and he’ll be looking over at Reverser—who’s by Chat Noir—with a sort of pining expression, but not too obvious so that Marc’s not weirded out—_

Nathaniel blinked as a closed envelope was slammed on top of his sketchbook, startling him. He glanced up, only to see Sabrina walking away from his desk and over to Ivan’s, arms filled with similar envelopes. Chloe was talking, which he must’ve missed while hyperfocusing on the next comic book issue’s cover.

“—and make sure to bring a date or something. I’m not having a party without a decent amount of guests.” Chloe finished, adjusting her hand on her hip. She glanced over to Adrien, who nodded with a smile. “And dress up or whatever.” And then she and Sabrina returned to their seats, the room filling with quiet discussion. 

Nathaniel glanced over to Lila, who was staring at Chloe and Adrien with a death glare. It didn’t seem like she was exactly in the mood to fill him in on what he’d missed, so he just opened the envelope instead.

Surprisingly, it turned out to be an invitation to Chloe’s birthday party, held at their hotel, and it seemed like the whole class was invited. Probably courtesy of Adrien, since the only other time Nathaniel had been invited to anything at Chloe’s house was because Adrien had talked to her. Or something like that.

Honestly, he wasn’t super excited to go. But Chloe had been making more of an effort to be nice lately, and even though she would never be his friend or anything, it might be nice to go. He wasn’t a party-type person, but then again, this was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

After class, Alix waved her invitation in Nathaniel’s face. “You going?”

Nathaniel shrugged. “Maybe.”

“That’s what you always say. You know, you could go and then leave early if you get uncomfortable or overwhelmed.” she suggested. “Either way, I’m going. Kim and Max are gonna be there, and I’m not missing out on an opportunity to watch Kim act stupid at the Bourgeois hotel while Max films.”

“You think there’ll be an akuma attack this time?” Nathaniel asked, remembering the last time they’d gone to a huge party at Chloe’s hotel. Despair Bear, while not one of the worst akumas, had ultimately ruined the party. 

“Dunno. Who’re you gonna bring as your _date?”_

Oops. He’d forgotten about that part. 

At his deafening silence, a sly expression crossed her face. “What about Marc?”

“Yeah, no. I’m not asking Marc to be my date to go to Chloe’s birthday party. First of all—” He held up a finger to indicate that this was one of many reasons. “—Marc doesn’t like Chloe. He thinks she’s rude and mean, and honestly, I don’t blame him. Second, I am not asking _Marc_ on a _date!_ Even if I make it sound platonic, the word ‘date’ just has a romantic connotation. And third, _he doesn’t even like me as more than a friend!”_

Alix considered this for a moment, then crossed her arms with a small smile edging at her lips. “Y’know, I would’ve left it alone, but your third point ruined it. So here’s the thing . . .” She paused for a dramatic-type effect. _“I dare you to ask him.”_

“Alix . . .”

“Look, I know I’m not good with romance, but I can tell he likes you. And I also know that you won’t believe me unless it gets proven, so ask him to be your date to the party. _I dare you.”_

Nathaniel sighed, knowing full well that Alix wasn’t going to let this go any time soon.

“Fine.”

By the end of the day, Nathaniel was on edge. Art Club loomed closer and closer, driving his thoughts crazy. He was going to have to ask Marc then, and Alix probably wasn’t going to let him leave before doing so. But the idea itself was just . . . terrifying. What if Marc said no? Or worse, what if Marc said yes out of obligation? He didn’t want to make his friend uncomfortable.

So when it was actually time for Art Club, Nathaniel snuck in and took a seat as quietly as possible, attempting to not catch anyone’s attention. Well, Alix noticed him, but she always did, so that was nothing new. But he didn’t want to turn this into a whole thing where the club would be watching at the edge of their seats. Thankfully enough, Juleka and Rose were occupied by watching a video of their latest performance together, and Marinette hadn’t arrived yet.

“Hey, Nath.” Marc offered. 

He looked as cute as ever that day, a soft smile fixed on his lips, resting his head in his hands. With his careful eye, Nathaniel noticed that the writer had a new coat of paint on his nails and had tried a new shade of mascara. God, Marc was just so amazing . . . why would he ever want to go with someone like Nathaniel on a date? Especially considering how they’d first met . . .

Nathaniel bit his lip and cast a glance over towards Alix.

She frowned, nodding towards him and Marc.

Now or never, huh?

So Nathaniel smiled brightly, leaning against the tabletop on one arm, watching his friend’s face carefully. “Hi Marc. Hey, can I ask you something? It’s a good thing . . . well, hopefully you’ll think so.”

Marc glanced away from his journal, his bright eyes meeting Nathaniel’s. “Of course!”

“Awesome. Um, do you . . .” Nathaniel took a deep breath, clasping his hands together. “Do you want to come to Chloe’s birthday party with me? She told us all to bring a date or something, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather go with than you. We can leave early if you get bored or uncomfortable or—”

 _“A date?”_ Marc asked, his tone increasingly cautious.

“I mean, if you want! Or just a friend thing—”

“Oh! Yeah!” The writer glanced across the room, then turned back to Nathaniel with a red tint creeping over his face. “Um, I’d love to go on a date with you. If that’s what you meant! If not, you can just pretend I didn’t say anything . . .”

Nathaniel couldn’t hide a laugh, knowing full well that he must’ve been blushing as much as Marc was, if the warmth in his cheeks was anything to go by. “Yeah, that’s what I meant. And if we need to leave early, we can . . . I know you don’t really like parties.”

“Um . . . yeah, but I like you.” As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes grew wide and he shook his head, pressing his lips together tightly. “God, I’m sorry. I don’t know what—”

Nathaniel grinned. “I like you too, Marc.”

“Wow. That’s . . . wow.” Marc shook his head again, this time as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. “Okay, we’re going to the party, then! Can you send me the details of the invitation?”

“Yeah, of course! And I can pick you up on the way.”

The two of them spent the rest of Art Club talking about both the party and their comic book, Nathaniel ignoring the knowing looks that Alix was shooting at him for most of the time there. If she pushed him, he’d admit that she was right, that Marc _did_ like him, but for now, he was enjoying the company of his _date._ Just that thought alone was honestly incredible.

And for the first time, Nathaniel was looking forward to the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part of this storyline will be posted tomorrow!


	24. Day 24 - Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of Day 23's storyline!

_Loud. Too loud._

Marc watched Nathaniel’s class gathering in groups, talking excitedly and accepting little treats and cups of sparkling juice from waiters all around the ballroom. Chloe had sure decided to go all out for her birthday, which was to be expected at this point, and for once, she was being nice to people. She’d greeted Marc and Nathaniel’s arrival with no more than a raised eyebrow and a half-hearted wave, but she wasn’t off in a corner with Sabrina ignoring everyone, so there was at least something to be said for that.

And Marc loved being around Nathaniel’s class. They were all so nice and accepting to his presence, a lot more than most of Marc’s class was—barring Aurore, Mirielle, and Jean, of course. But Mme. Bustier’s homeroom just seemed like a family in a way, and instead of being clique-y, they’d accepted Marc wholeheartedly. He and Nathaniel weren’t dating—technically, they’d just admitted their feelings for each other—but their class was very LGBT-friendly, which was a relief. 

But after a bit at Chloe’s party, the loud nature of the setting was starting to get a little overwhelming on Marc’s senses. Nathaniel had been pulled aside by Alix for a minute, and while waiting for him to come back, Marc was left to try and block out some of the excitement. He could try talking to someone, but he wasn’t great with that via his social anxiety.

“Hey.” Nathaniel’s voice broke through Marc’s train of thought. “You okay?”

Marc nodded, hoping that he was getting better at not blushing and stammering every time Nathaniel talked to him. It should’ve been easier now that he knew Nathaniel liked him back, right? Except, not really. “I’m alright. It’s just—” he waved a hand to demonstrate the overwhelming nature of the large room “—loud.”

“Oh! Um—I’m sorry, I was going to ask you to dance, but if you don’t want to, I totally understand and we can just—”

“Dance? _With you?”_

Plan failed successfully. Marc knew his face had turned crimson.

“Um, yeah.” Nathaniel swung a leg awkwardly, glancing away. “But really, I don’t want to pressure you into anything that you don’t want—”

“I do want! I mean—” Marc took a deep breath to catch his composure. No use in embarrassing himself all over again. “I’d love to dance with you. Um, I’ve never danced with someone before though, so I might be really bad at it—”

“That’s okay! I’ve, uh, never danced with anyone either, so it’ll be an adventure for both of us.” He laughed, though a nervous tone was evident in his words.

Marc watched in rapt attention. He knew Nathaniel was one of the quieter and more anxious members of his class, but he didn’t ever think Nathaniel would be nervous around Marc himself. At least, not as nervous as Marc tended to be around Nathaniel. 

“Oh—okay.” 

And Marc shyly accepted Nathaniel’s outstretched hand when offered, placing his gloved hand on top of the other’s just as they had so long ago when they made up after the whole Reverser incident. Except this time, Nathaniel curled his hand around Marc’s, then led him over to the floor where a slow song was starting.

Marc glanced over to Marinette to check if she was seeing this, but immediately noticed Marinette and Adrien dancing together, the baker girl lost in her own world. Which was fine, Marc thought with a smile. He’d tell her later. Right now, she could have her moment, and he’d have his.

Nathaniel placed his free hand on Marc’s hip, causing the writer to stiffen. 

“Sorry . . .” Nathaniel murmured, glancing away.

“No! No, don’t be sorry . . . I just wasn’t paying attention.” Marc relaxed his posture and rested his coordinating hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder. “ _I’m_ sorry. I didn’t mean to make you, um, feel bad.”

“No, you’re okay!” Nathaniel tilted his head to the side and smiled, tightening his hold on Marc’s hand. “Okay. I think this is how we’re supposed to do it?”

“I don’t know. It feels right.”

Marc could sense the panic about to wash over him for his strange word choice, but before his thoughts began to spiral, Nathaniel nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it does feel right. I’ll be sure to tell that to Chloe if she bothers us about dancing wrong.”

Unable to tell if Nathaniel was joking or if he was serious about that—he _had_ gotten better about standing up to rude comments recently—Marc was about to ask, but before he could, the song changed to another slow one, prompting most of the room to start dancing once again.

“Okay.” Nathaniel repeated, starting to step to the music. 

Marc followed suit, stepping back and forth and letting Nathaniel lead him in their awkward version of a slow dance. And yeah, they probably did seem strange in comparison to the other couples there—especially ones like Alya and Nino and Rose and Juleka, who danced like they’d been doing it forever—but for once, Marc didn’t mind. Not when he could focus on Nathaniel and the fact that they were _touching and holding hands and locking eyes and—_

The song ended way too early for Marc’s liking, and when the DJ switched it to a more upbeat song, a lot of people left the dance floor. The boys followed suit, heading back to the corner where Marc had been before.

“That was fun.” Nathaniel commented. “You know, I’d like to dance with you again sometime, if you’d want.”

“I would! I had fun too.” 

Marc became suddenly aware of the fact that Nathaniel hadn’t let go of his hand yet, and he knew that Nathaniel liked him and had asked him here on a date and had danced with him, but just the mere act of him holding his hand when he didn’t need to was sending Marc into an overpowering realization that _Nathaniel really liked him,_ like _for real._

“Um, Nath, you’re still holding—”

“I know.” Nathaniel said, turning towards him with a hint of a smile on his lips. “Is that okay?” 

This wasn’t a fluke, this wasn’t a mistake. Marc’s longtime crush liked him back, not out of pity or anything, but _really liked him._ If someone had told Marc that he’d died and gone to heaven right there, he would’ve believed it.

“Yeah.” Marc tightened his grasp. “It’s wonderful.”

And for the rest of the night, the two remained together, neither wanting to be the first to let go of the other.


	25. Day 25 - Embrace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably doesn't make much sense and is a bit of a stretch, but I've had this idea for a bit and it fit the prompt so it works.

“Um . . . I have a crush on you.”

Time stood still as Nathaniel froze, inhaling sharply with his shoulders raised. He stared Marc in the eye, not blinking, hardly stirring. His bangs fell perfectly over half his face, giving Marc only one eye to determine emotions from . . . 

_ He doesn’t like you, Marc. He hates you now. _

Marc clutched his journal closer to his chest. His heart pounded against his ribcage, threatening to break free from his chest.

_ You knew he’s straight and just thinks of you as a friend. And now you’re not even going to be friends at all, now that you’ve made him feel uncomfortable. _

“I—I’m—” Marc attempted, but his voice died out before he could complete a sentence. He bowed his head, strands of dark hair floating in his vision and blocking out the scene. He didn’t want to see Nathaniel’s face once he got over the shock. He didn’t want to see his friendship destroyed.

_ Leave before you make this any more awkward.  _

With that, Marc turned on his heel and ran down the hallway.

He kept running as he passed the art classroom, knowing that going there would just make things worse. He didn’t want to cause a scene. He didn’t want anyone else to know how he’d just lost one of the best friends he’d ever had. His breath tightened with his panic, causing him to slow his pace as soon as he’d made it to the courtyard. But he didn’t stop, not until he was outside the school and into the overwhelmingly lucid sunlight. 

A couple tears formed in his eyes and made their way down his cheeks.

_ He doesn’t like you, Marc. And now he hates you. You ruined your partnership, and he’s going to continue the comic books without you. You’re never going to have friends again, not now since Nathaniel hates— _

A small purple and black butterfly disappeared into the journal currently pressed against his chest. Air filling his lungs, Marc glanced up to face the neon pink edging the corners of his vision. Hawkmoth could sense his emotions, could feel his pain.

_ “Reverser.” _

Finally finding the ability to move, Nathaniel dashed down the hallway that Marc had taken, searching everywhere for his comic book partner. But he didn’t see the notable flash of red from Marc’s hoodie, nor did he hear Marc’s voice.

_ You messed up, Nathaniel. You finally had your chance to be with your crush, and you reacted like a jerk, scaring him off. Way to go. _

He ducked his head into the art room, but Marc hadn’t arrived yet. After a quick explanation, he continued down to the courtyard, but the writer wasn’t even in his usual spot underneath the stairs. He couldn’t have gone home, so he was either hiding somewhere or panicking, and neither was ideal.

_ It’ll be a miracle if he ever speaks to you again after the way you keep treating him. _

Attempting to gather his thoughts, Nathaniel took a seat on one of the benches and surveyed the courtyard from this angle. Nope, no Marc, though the area seemed surprisingly devoid of people. But that didn’t matter so much as fixing the mistake he’d make. Idly, he tapped the edge of his pen against his cheek, thinking.

He’d gotten Marc akumatized once, and that was the worst mistake of his life. And he continued to internalize thoughts that Marc deserved a better artist than one who’d been such a bully towards him, but Marc did his best to convince him otherwise. 

But now . . . now Marc had admitted something that must’ve nearly killed him to say, and how did Nathaniel react? By freezing, probably with a strange expression, and scaring Marc into running away. And this was what Nathaniel had always wanted! That’s why he was so surprised, since he’d never had someone he liked return his feelings. But it didn’t seem like that was going to happen after all.

He needed to find his comic book partner and he needed to apologize.

If Marc was ever willing to speak to him again.

_ You just reminded him of the time you ripped his journal, and now he’s upset all over again. Why did you have to ruin yet another crush? It’s a wonder Marinette’s still friends with you and she’s super nice, so Marc probably hates— _

A small butterfly, black with spots of purple, disappeared into the pen clutched in his left hand. Nathaniel raised his head, sensing the pink butterfly mask appear around the edges of his face, sensing Hawkmoth’s presence.

_ “Evillustrator.” _

Reverser glided through the doorway and into the courtyard on his hoverboard, searching desperately for Nathaniel. He had Hawkmoth’s instructions broadcasting through his mind, demanding that he go and search for the miraculouses as soon as possible, but he ignored it for now. 

He had to find Nathaniel.

He wasn’t quite sure what he would do once he found the artist, as he hadn’t thought that far in advance. He was driven and running on pure emotion at the moment, which he knew had made Marc weak so he could be strong. All Reverser wanted was to find the person that he loved, the person who’d hurt him once again, and then he would have completed his goal. He could focus on the heroes and their antics later.

His target—Nathaniel—always came first.

Evillustrator ran through the corridors, his appearance and aggressive expression frightening students into hiding. But he didn’t care. He had to find Marc, had to beg to give an explanation. Never mind Hawkmoth and the orders that were currently being yelled at him, there were other, more important things right now.

He had to find Marc.

As soon as he did, he would do anything to regain the writer’s approval. Perhaps take him away somewhere that would befit someone as wonderful as Marc, somewhere safe while Evillustrator was forced to fight the heroes for fear of being mind tortured again. That didn’t matter as much, though, not as much as seeking forgiveness. 

After all, he’d end the world if he knew it would make Marc happy.

Turning a corner, Reverser froze, staring at the figure at the other end of the hallway. He narrowed his eyes. Was that . . . ? 

The other figure started running towards him, waving. And sure enough, as soon as he got closer, his appearance was made clearer, revealing him to look identical to the character that Marc had written so many stories about, one of the heroes from the comics Marc and Nathaniel worked on together . . . except not exactly. 

Reverser stepped off his hoverboard, awaiting his companion.

“Reverser!” the artist exclaimed, approaching the other with a sly smile fixed on his lips. “You’re just the person I was looking for—in essence, anyway.” And with that, he moved forward in a rush and embraced the other akuma. 

Reverser stiffened at the other’s arms around him. Hadn’t he been rejected again? 

“It was a misunderstanding, I’m in love with you, and I’d do anything for you.” the other akuma continued, finally letting go of his arms’ hold on the former, but still holding onto his wrists as if he’d die if he let go. “Please, don’t be upset with me, I swear—”

“You’re the one I was seeking as well, Evillustrator.” The other akuma glanced up at the sound of his name but made no move to say anything. “And I accept your clarification.”

“Oh good. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone as pretty as you staying mad at me for too long.” Evillustrator winked, letting go of Reverser’s wrists to cross his arms. 

Reverser raised an eyebrow at this comment, but didn’t react otherwise. 

He hadn’t expected to run into his crush  _ akumatized, _ nor had he expected that Nathaniel—or the Evillustrator—would feel as upset about the situation as he himself did. But despite the other’s overly-flirty personality and dramatic nature . . . he loved him. Akumatized or not, they clearly had some sort of a connection, and the way Marc loved Nathaniel certainly translated to their evilized selves. In essence, his driven nature had led him in the right direction.

Hawkmoth’s presence interrupted his train of thought, blinding neon pink light surrounding his vision.  _ “Now that you have made up, be hasty! I need those miraculouses!” _

Reverser glanced over to Evillustrator, exchanging eye contact and an amused smile.

“Shall we go then?” Reverser asked, stepping onto his hoverboard and extending a hand to his companion. “I won’t let you fall.”

“You’d better not.” 

But despite his light teasing, the other villain took his hand and let himself be pulled onto the back of the hoverboard. He held on tightly as they took off into the sky, onlookers from below pointing and shouting at the notice of a new akuma attack. That didn’t matter at the moment, though.

Because now that the two villains had each other, they were, in essence, unstoppable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no explanation for why he was able to send out two akumas at once, just go with it, lol


	26. Day 26 - Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is tangibly related to a couple of the past days (7 and 20), but I promise you wouldn't have to read those for this to make sense.

Mightillustrator stood outside the park, tapping his foot impatiently. A couple people stopped by, asking for an autograph or a photo with one of Paris’ favorite heroes, and he was happy to oblige, but he was really just waiting for someone he’d invited to talk for a bit.

For his _ partner. _

And thankfully, before long, he heard the tell-tale whooshing sound of Reverser’s hoverboard coming in for a landing. He didn’t turn though, didn’t want to be the first person to say something between the two of them. And as he waited, he heard Reverser jump off the hoverboard and start walking, his boots clicking against the concrete path.

“Mightillustrator.”

The hero in question cringed.  _ He didn’t want to turn, didn’t want to see Reverser’s face— _

“Mightillustrator, I’m here. You said that you wanted to talk?”

And finally, he met Reverser’s eyes. Rather than anger, he only saw confusion and sorrow, almost a sense of hurt. So he didn’t remember what had happened? He didn’t remember the last akuma fight? That almost made it worse, given that in that case, all Reverser would’ve remembered was seeing his partner brush him aside and run away, leaving him to pick up the pieces with Ladybug and Chat Noir. That sucked too.

“You—you don’t remember anything?” Mightillustrator ventured, clutching his pen in both shaking hands. 

“No, all I remember is waking up, reversing the villain, and then the miraculous cure . . . what happened? You just . . . left me.” Reverser bit his lip, glancing to the side. Mightillustrator could now see that the other hero’s makeup wasn’t very neat. Had he been crying? “I’m sorry, that might sound rude . . . I just want to make sure I didn’t hurt your feelings or anything.”

“No! No, no. You didn’t hurt my feelings.” Mightillustrator was quick to say. “I don’t hate you at all! I just . . . something happened between us, and I thought we should talk about it. Do you remember anything about the akuma fight?”

“Just that it was Dark Cupid, we were fighting and I got hit—” Reverser froze, eyes widening slightly. “Mightillustrator, how did I go back to normal  _ before _ the miraculous cure?”

Mightillustrator sighed, looking downward and kicking his foot against the sidewalk.

He’d figured it out. Well, sort of.

“Well, his power broke because . . . because I kissed you.”

Neither spoke for a moment, the only sound the birds in the trees twittering cheerfully. It didn’t fit Mightillustrator’s feelings at all, given that he was fully aware of the fact that Reverser was probably furious at him now. 

“Did I say anything terrible to you when I was under Dark Cupid’s power?”

Mightillustrator glanced up sharply. “What?”

Reverser had his arms crossed, a serious glint in his eyes. His hair blew out of his hood with a quick gust of wind, sending the black and white strands intermixing and making him appear even more somber. “Did I say anything terrible? I didn’t mean it, if I did.”

Fumbling for words, Mightillustrator attempted to say, “Yeah—I mean, nothing that I actually believed. You mostly said things about our friendship, like how you think I’m obnoxious and a terrible hero and how you’ve never actually liked me—”

He froze. Saying it out loud was a lot worse.

Had he actually internalized his partner’s false words?

“I didn’t mean that.” Reverser was quick to say, horror filling his expression. “Really, I don’t think any of those things about you. You’re one of my best friends, and definitely my best friend on the team, and I’d never want to hurt you.”

“I know, I know you didn’t mean it. You’re my best friend on the team, too.” Mightillustrator looked up slightly, making eye contact with Reverser again. “But . . . I just wanted to apologize. Or whatever you think would be right, since I’m not sure how you feel about . . . what I did.”

Reverser blinked. “The kiss?”

“That, and just leaving you. I should’ve talked to you right away, but it was just . . . weird.” Mightillustrator sighed, biting his lip. “The thing is, I can’t figure out if Dark Cupid’s power was broken by just any random kiss or something more like . . . love.”

“So that means  _ you like me?” _ Reverser raised an eyebrow, lips parted slightly with a strange look in his eyes. “I don’t care that you kissed me to help break his power . . . but if it was love . . . God, Mightillustrator, this is so confusing.”

Well, it was too late now. Mightillustrator could’ve avoided any of the issues just by apologizing for kissing him, but now that he’d even brought up the concept of love, the whole thing was ruined. He just  _ had _ to open his mouth.

“Yeah, it’s true.” Mightillustrator shrugged, attempting to seem casual even though his heart was pounding at the speed of light in his chest. “I have a crush on you. And I know that might mess up our relationship, but I’d like to stay friends. It might be awkward, but . . . if you could give me a chance . . . ?”

He carefully watched Reverser’s face, watched for any indication that the other hero was upset. Honestly, he had already come to the conclusion that the two of them were friends, and this wasn’t going to change at any point since Reverser only saw him platonically. So as long as he hadn’t hurt his partner’s feelings, it’d be alright. But the duochromatic hero’s expression didn’t give any hints, remaining totally frozen in an expression of shock mixed with something else . . . maybe confusion?

“Wow.” Reverser finally said. “That’s . . . wow.”

“Wow?”

“Yeah. I, um . . .” The other hero seemed to be fumbling for something to say, adjusting his gloves and hood while murmuring something unintelligible. Finally, he took a deep breath, relaxing his posture, his black-and-white eyes meeting Mightillustrator’s teal ones. “I like you too.”

This was not at all what Mightillustrator had been expecting to hear.

“You  _ what?” _

“I like you. As more than friends. I have ever since you helped de-akumatize me.”

“Oh.” was all Mightillustrator could say for a moment. Much like his partner, he had to pause for a moment to process this change in information, this rapid shift in emotion.  _ Reverser _ liked  _ him? _ Even though they were only close in battle, even though they’d started off their relationship by being enemies, even though Reverser had claimed to hate him under Dark Cupid’s spell . . . ?

No. Reverser hadn’t been in his right mind then, and he didn’t mean those things.

“I don’t know how a romantic relationship between the two of us would work since we can’t know each other’s identities.” Reverser continued. “But I’d like to give it a try, if you want, that is . . .”

Mightillustrator honestly felt like this wasn’t really happening, that the whole thing was just an illusion or a hallucination. No one ever liked him back. No one ever shared his feelings for them. And no one ever wanted to be in a relationship with him. But here was Reverser, saying just that! It was just like he’d always hoped, and yet . . . it was real.

“Yeah, I’d like to try. As long as we don’t let Hawkmoth or the media find out. Who knows what they’d do with that information.” Mightillustrator agreed, unable to hide his grin. “And maybe someday when Hawkmoth’s defeated, we can tell each other who we are.”

Reverser nodded. “I’d like that.”

They were silent for a moment, watching each other carefully and with the same cheerful sense of unveiled long-time feelings. It was nice to be able to finally say something, and it was even nicer to share that emotion with someone else. 

“Well, I should go.” Reverser finally said, turning back to his hoverboard. “But we could meet up sometime—not just for akuma fights, I mean. And maybe we could kiss for real.”

“Let’s do that.” Mightillustrator agreed. “See you soon, maybe? Would tomorrow work?”

Reverser turned one last time, his hood pushing back slightly to reveal his split-toned hair, the sun casting a shine on his face and brilliant smile. Mightillustrator felt a sudden surge of emotion, flattered that someone that incredible and amazing would ever return his feelings. But that was just based off past circumstances, and his partner—boyfriend?—was the here and now. 

“Okay.” Reverser smiled. “Tomorrow sounds good.”


	27. Day 27 - Language

Marc didn’t like to talk much. Nathaniel was used to being the quiet one in his own class, and he still tended to be so, but it was almost surprising to see how Marc was far quieter than he was. He was an introvert through and through, and while he enjoyed hanging out with friends and occasionally with Nathaniel’s class, he preferred to stay on the sidelines and watch from a distance. 

Nathaniel did not mind. Marc was his friend—his boyfriend now—and he knew that Marc did enjoy staying on the outsides of events. And sure, he would occasionally invite Marc to directly join the group, like when everyone had gone to that party at Adrien’s house—and in that case, Marc had a good time (minus the akuma attack, of course). But he also had spent the whole time there with Marc, keeping him company from the edges of the party until he felt comfortable hanging out with the other boys. 

The problem arose when Marc’s anxiety would kick in, and he wouldn’t say anything about it, leaving him panicking and overwhelmed in silence. No one seemed to know him well enough to catch onto this, other than Marinette, that is. And while Marinette was a sweet person, she would get blindsided by her driven ideas, which is what led to Marc sharing his journal despite not really wanting to in the first place. But other than Marinette, Marc liked to keep to himself enough that no one could catch the little signs of his insecurity.

That is, until Nathaniel and Marc started to get closer. 

Nathaniel didn’t notice that he’d picked up Marc’s little tell-tale signs at first, still living on the thrill from his and Marc’s new relationship. But not only was Marc becoming far more comfortable around him, Nathaniel was incidentally picking up Marc’s body language. He hadn’t realized it at first, though.

One day, Nathaniel had invited Marc to go get ice cream with his class after they decided to celebrate getting through finals, and Marc agreed. He was rather comfortable around Alix and Marinette, and the rest of their class—minus Chloe and Lila—had been more than excited to welcome Marc both as a friend and as Nathaniel’s boyfriend. 

In line for Andre’s ice cream, everyone was either complaining about the finals or getting excited for the upcoming break. Standing next to Alix and her friends, Nathaniel got to listen to Kim recount all the questions he knew he got right on the last final, Max correcting him on a couple with the promise to study with him later. Marc just smiled and held onto Nathaniel’s hand. 

It was at that moment when there was an influx of tourists, a crowd making their way through the park. It was certainly a large group of people, but most of their class wasn’t too stymied by it with the exception of Chloe, who started complaining immediately. Most of the class just ignored both her and the tourists, continuing to talk and disperse with their ice cream.

Nathaniel felt the grip on his hand tighten, ever so slightly. He glanced up, meeting Marc’s eyes, then started when he realized that Marc was pressing his lips tightly together, glancing off towards the adjacent street. 

Something told Nathaniel that Marc was uncomfortable. He couldn’t pinpoint what exactly had led him to that conclusion, but he just knew it. 

“Hey, Marc.” he whispered in Marc’s ear. Thankfully, the other boy was close enough that this didn’t draw too much attention to them, as he knew Marc would’ve hated that. “Did you want to step out for a minute? I’ll come with you.”

Marc turned, his deep green eyes taking on a somber tone. “But you—don’t you want to stay with your class?”

“It’s fine.” Nathaniel assured him. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Marc nodded, his expression implying that he wasn’t entirely convinced. But he still clutched Nathaniel’s hand tighter and let his boyfriend lead him to the edge of the park, away from the crowds and groups of people. 

“Thanks.” he finally said, a bit breathless. “I don’t know what happened . . . I guess I’m a little sensitive around crowds today, or something . . .”

“Don’t worry about it, it can be a little overwhelming around so many people.” Nathaniel told him. “I get it. And we can go back whenever you’re comfortable.”

Marc glanced down at his feet, his cheeks flushing red. “You don’t have to wait with me.”

“No, but I want to!” Nathaniel promised him. He met Marc’s eyes again, making sure that the other boy knew that he was telling the truth. And Marc did seem to understand, though sometimes it was hard for him to believe that with his mind telling him just the opposite. But Nathaniel was prepared to fight tooth and nail for Marc to know just how much he meant to him. 

“Okay.” Marc nodded, a small smile creeping over his lips. 

And they did wait for a bit, waited until the tourists left and the line cleared up. By that point, most of Mme. Bustier’s homeroom had left, but that was alright, as Nathaniel saw them pretty often since most of them were friends. He was content to get ice cream with his boyfriend for now. 

Marc was feeling better, so the two of them sat on the edge of the fountain where they had met up so long ago. They’d made sure to not give that place any lasting bad memories of their one unfortunate encounter by meeting there often, and it was both the place where they’d confessed their feelings and where they’d shared their first kiss.

“Thanks.” Marc said, grinning over at Nathaniel as he took a spoonful of the couples’ ice cream that they’d decided to get. Well, Andre had suggested it. He always seemed to know what would be the perfect choice.

Nathaniel nodded. The way that the sunlight was casting a glint on Marc’s raven-y hair, the way that his eyes seemed to sparkle with the light and shadows cast by the fountain . . . God, Nathaniel was so lucky to have someone as amazing as Marc in his life. “Of course. Even if your mind’s telling you something different, I’ll still be here, and I love you.” 

“I do too.” Marc agreed, resting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I really do.”

And they stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, just enjoying each other’s company and the stillness that seemed to spread over the park as the day changed to evening and the sky grew darker. 


	28. Day 28 - Accept

_ “Are you sure you want to say anything? Really, I don’t have to—” _

“Marc, it’ll be fine!” Nathaniel assured his boyfriend. “If it goes badly . . . we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. And you don’t have to worry about any of that, I’ll take care of it. It’s my family, after all. Okay?”

There was a long pause from the other side of the phone. Then, after a bit, Marc audibly sighed and said,  _ “Okay. I guess I’ll be over in an hour if everything goes alright. Let me know if it doesn’t.” _

“Trust me, I will.” Nathaniel glanced up at the clock. “I’ve gotta go. Love you!”

_ “Love you too.” _

And there was a sense of uncertainty in Marc’s tone, making the anxiety that he was trying to hide that much more obvious. Nathaniel didn’t blame him, of course. In the past, Marc had his own problems with telling his family about personal things like this. But this time, it was Nathaniel’s turn, and he was severely unprepared for having this conversation.

Time was running out. He had to ask soon.

He walked downstairs to find his mother in the kitchen, cooking and preparing that day’s dinner. It wasn’t too fancy or anything, especially since it was usually just the two of them, but since Mme. Kurtzberg had a day where she wasn’t busy at the hospital that she worked long hours at, having a nice, pre-prepared dinner was indeed a big deal. That’s why she’d asked if he wanted to invite a friend over.

“Hey, Mom?” Nathaniel ventured. 

Mme. Kurtzberg turned, setting her stirring spoon down. “Oh, Nath! Did you see if a friend could come over?”

“About that.” Nathaniel bit his lip, glancing to the side so he wouldn’t have to meet his mother’s concerned gaze. She wasn’t trying to freak him out—she obviously didn’t even know why he was about to say—but it still wasn’t helpful for his nerves, considering what he was planning to tell her. “So, the person I want to invite . . . we’re dating.”

“Oh!” Her face filled with surprise, then a soft smile. “How did I not know this? My sweet little boy’s growing up so fast . . . so who is it? Oh, let me guess! That Marinette girl that you liked before?”

“Mom!” Nathaniel cried, his cheeks growing warm. He obviously didn’t have a crush on Marinette any longer, but the fact that she knew he used to like her despite him not having said anything before . . . slightly mortifying. He added, “No, not her. She likes someone else, and so do I.”

“Ah, I see. Who is it then? Alix?”

The idea of him dating Alix—who was aromantic—was humorous, and if Nathaniel hadn’t been so nervous, he would’ve had to stifle a smile. But instead, he just said, “No, she’s just my friend. It’s actually . . .” He took a deep breath, adjusting his blazer and his posture before continuing. “You know my friend Marc?”

“Of course I do, he’s here so often . . .” She trailed off, a sense of understanding dawning on her face. She was silent for a moment, seemingly putting the pieces together that had existed for a long time, and then, finally, nodded. “I should have known, once again. I can tell that he brightens your day. He seems like such a kind boy, too, and I’m glad you found someone like that.”

Nathaniel glanced up sharply, daring to get his hopes up. “So he can come to dinner?”

“Why couldn’t he? He treats you well, yes?”

“Yeah, he’s the sweetest—”

“Then he’s welcome here anytime. Does he like dessert? Maybe I should stop by the bakery and pick up some pastries or something, since I’m not really a baker myself . . .” she mused, absentmindedly looking out the window. Then she turned back, smiling at Nathaniel. “It’s not everyday I have dinner with my son’s boyfriend, after all!”

“Oh, it’s fine, Mom! Don’t worry about anything fancy! And thank you!” Filled with euphoria, Nathaniel dashed upstairs, quickly grabbing for his phone and calling Marc. He hadn’t expected rejection, per se, but having such a positive reaction was everything he could’ve ever hoped for, and he wanted to let Marc know immediately. 

The phone rang once before Marc picked up. Without letting Nathaniel say a word, he said,  _ “Nath? Oh no, did it go bad? Do you want to meet me at—?” _

“No, it went really well! Like, really well!” Nathaniel exclaimed, clutching the phone with a strength he hadn’t been sure he possessed. He was just so scared he’d drop it in his excitement. “You should come over soon, though. We could work on the comic book a little bit before we eat? I know we still have to finish that one page.”

_ “Ahh, I’m so happy! Yeah, I’ll be there soon!” _

“You planning on dressing up?” Nathaniel asked, absentmindedly twirling a pencil in his free hand. “I don’t want to be underdressed next to you. Even though you always look incredible, so I’m always underdressed in comparison—”

_ “Aw, Nath!”  _ Marc laughed, then added, _ “I don’t know, should I dress up?” _

“Wear whatever you’re comfortable in. But get here soon! If you want, anyway.”

_ “Of course I do! I’m excited. And you seem really excited, too.” _

Hearing a noise, Nathaniel turned. He noted the tell-tale sign of the door to his apartment shutting, letting him know that his mother did, in fact, leave to go get pastries for dessert. She absolutely didn’t have to, but the fact that she was adding to the plans that had been originally made due to it being Marc that was coming . . . it was such a kind gesture. It showed the acceptance that Nathaniel had been hoping for. And maybe there would be issues in the future, especially with extended family, but for now . . . his relationship with Marc was accepted by his mother, the person he regarded so highly. And that was all he needed in that moment.

Nathaniel smiled returning to his call. “Yeah, I really am.”


	29. Day 29 - Favorite Book (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not my favorite book, but I did enjoy it, and it was the only thing I could think of for today's prompt. And it seems appropriate, considering the book focuses on art and is very gay.
> 
> That being said, I'm not sure what I was writing here or if it even made any sense. Sorry in advance, haha.

Nathaniel trudged away from the park, clutching his bag, his knuckles nearly going white from his tight grip. For some reason, every step seemed like a lot more work than usual. He narrowed his eyes, his words playing back through his head.

_“A comic book? Us? Together? Never!”_

Something was still bothering him about the whole thing.

It shouldn’t have been still on his mind, he just wanted to be over the whole thing, but ripping Marc’s journal like that was harsh and he knew it. If someone had ripped his own sketchbook like that, he would’ve absolutely lost it on them. But this was justified, right? Because Marc was teaming up with Marinette to mess with him?

Nathaniel sighed. Of course it wasn’t justified.

He was just trying to convince himself at this point.

Marc, to put it lightly, was cute. And he wasn’t used to having cute people—especially cute _boys_ —want to talk to him at all. Marinette had talked to him as much as she talked to anyone else in the class when he’d had a crush on her, but it was always strictly platonic. And after the whole Evillustrator thing . . . Nathaniel wouldn’t have blamed her if things had become a little more tense. Thankfully, they didn’t, but now he was wary.

He didn’t remember much from being Evillustrator. But what he did remember was 1. attempting to murder Chloe and 2. having Marinette pretend to like him, only to apparently reject him. It got fuzzy after that. And he’d been a villain, so she was well within her right to do so . . . but that still hurt. It still made him feel like he didn’t deserve to be in a relationship at all.

Which is why Marc talking to him, even in his own awkward way, was incredible. No, more than incredible. It was something he hadn’t been expecting, and he probably wouldn’t get to experience again. If Marc hadn’t run away like that, Nathaniel probably would’ve asked him to hang out after Art Club. And then Marinette approaching him with the journal that was apparently his celebrity crush’s personal diary? Even more incredible.

But all of that fell to pieces when it seemed like Marc, who was friends with Marinette, seemed to be trying to trick and tease him again. Marc had apparently written the journal, he knew all about the Evillustrator thing, so it just looked like he was hitting where it hurt. And Nathaniel didn’t appreciate having one of his worst days played out again.

But the whole thing was bothering him, and he knew it. Marc didn’t seem like a jerk or a bully. Nathaniel knew what type of person tended to act like that, and even from the little he knew of the writer, Marc was nothing like Chloe. He didn’t even act like Marinette, who was decidedly _not_ a bully despite the lingering hurt over being tricked.

Still. The whole thing was messy and he just had to think through it.

Nathaniel opened the door to his apartment, which was totally empty. His mother was still at work, and wouldn’t be home until much later, so he was left alone with just his thoughts to keep him company for the rest of the day. 

He headed to his room and dropped his bookbag on the ground without bothering to put anything away. It’d be the end of the world and his room still wouldn’t be clean to other people’s standards.

Nathaniel got out some of his art supplies, namely colored pencils, markers, and his favorite sketchbook. Working on his drawings tended to help when he was in a bit of a mood, and he certainly was at the moment. 

But before he’d even sketched a line, the covered canvas at the other side of his room caught his attention. He’d painted a self-portrait for Art Club, something he was planning to add to the showcase that the club was doing in a couple months, and this was intended to be one of his main pieces. Superhero drawings were his speciality, but he wanted to be taken seriously as an artist, and as someone who lived in a city where there were superheroes, having drawings of them as his only artistic endeavors wouldn’t exactly look fantastic in his portfolio.

He peeled pack the fabric covering on the self-portrait. 

And then gasped, his pencil hitting the floor with a clatter.

The painted version of Nathaniel looked exactly the same . . . besides the expression. Where the self-portrait had appeared happy and content before, now it had an evil glint in the visible eye, the mouth curling into a bit of a smirk. Like he’d just done something terrible and was proud of it. 

He certainly hadn’t painted himself to look like that, and yet . . .

Nathaniel reached forward and brushed his fingers against the dried paint. Yup, it felt like the original painting. No bumps or strange aspects that would imply another layer had been added to cover his handiwork. 

Taking a step backwards, Nathaniel stared at his painted self. 

He didn’t know how this happened. He didn’t know how one of his paintings could change like that. But what he did know was that it was implying that he’d done something very very wrong.

And with a jolt, he realized . . . he had.

Marc.

Before Nathaniel could even make it to the door, a blur of black and white flew past his window. He dashed over and flung open the shades, revealing what looked to be an akuma. It turned for a split second, and in that moment, Nathaniel was able to recognize Marc’s face even with the duo-chromatic color scheme. He blinked, and the akuma was gone.

Oh, he’d massively screwed up.

And now he had to fix it.

But he was no hero. He’d caused an akuma, and now he was left with some unknown force taunting him about his actions. Ladybug and Chat Noir were probably already on it, and he couldn’t help, not the way that he would need to.

 _Alix would know what to do,_ he decided. Or at least she’d have better advice than he could give himself while hastily panicking in his room. So without waiting another moment, he snapped a picture of the changed painting—for proof—and grabbed his bookbag once more. He had to get to the Louvre, see if Alix could do anything, and possibly salvage anything left of what Marc thought of him.

He just hoped it wasn’t too late.


	30. Day 30 - Together

“Is that the last of them?” Marc asked, watching Nathaniel lift another box onto the table. There were at least six boxes already, and all were packed tight with comic books and merchandise that the publisher had decided to invest in, given that the boys’ comic book had been such a financial gain. Not to mention, the boxes were pretty heavy.

“Looks like it.” Nathaniel surveyed the table, which was much more of a mess than a lot of the other booths at the convention. “We’re going to have to get this cleaned up.”

“I kind of like it. Reminds me of your room.” Marc teased, placing a hand on his hip. 

He was so much more confident than when they’d first met, Nathaniel mused. Even though Marc was still working through his social anxiety and shyness, he was comfortable around _ Nathaniel, _ as well as brave enough to agree to having a booth at the convention to sell their comic books. Honestly, if Marc wasn’t willing to do it, Nathaniel wouldn’t have been willing to either. He got anxious a lot too, especially being in the spotlight, and he couldn’t do something so “out there” like this without his partner, his best friend, his  _ boyfriend  _ . . . 

Nathaniel jokingly rolled his eyes. “You sound like my mom.”

He watched as Marc meticulously arranged stacks of their various comic book issues in cartons, so that people could sift through and find the one that they wanted to read. The boys made sure to include a lot of the first issue and the most recent issue. Marc always said the first one was his favorite, purely for nostalgia’s sake, and Nathaniel liked to say that his favorite always changed to the newest issue whenever they released one. But honestly, his favorite was the one where Mightillustrator and Reverser first got together. It was written not too long after the two boys had gotten together, and they both put a lot of work into making the romantic storyline realistic and sweet. 

They also had a bunch of pins and artwork that they were selling, which were apparently going to be a big hit, according to the editor. Nathaniel had worked tirelessly to create artwork based on the fans’ favorite scenes—conferring with Alix and the rest of the Art Club, of course—and he was pretty pleased with the outcomes. The pins prominently featured designs based on Ladybug and Chat Noir, as well as Mightillustrator and Reverser’s insignias.

Now to see if anyone was actually interested in their work at this particular convention.

As soon as the doors opened to the public and people started filing in, Nathaniel saw Marc noticeably tense up. He couldn’t blame him, as Nathaniel was now drumming his fingers on the edge of the table. Being in public, in front of so many people, was not something the two of them had experienced in the professional world like this before.

“We’ll be alright.” Nathaniel promised, catching Marc’s attention and causing him to turn, facing Nathaniel with his brilliant green eyes. But his expression was still full of concern. “Honestly, I’m just glad we’re doing this together.”

Marc nodded, attempting a smile. “Yeah. Together.”

A group of teens approached their table, one of the boys in the lead, exclaiming something about how this was the table for “that comic series we’ve been reading”. Marc was the one he approached, which worried Nathaniel for a moment, but the group’s upbeat personalities and non-aggressive manner seemed to be positive for the writer.

“You guys write those Ladybug and Chat Noir comics?” the boy asked, his face alight.

Marc nodded cheerfully. “Yeah! Well, I’m the writer and Nath’s the artist.”

“They’re so cool. My favorite issue’s the latest one, but they’re all so good. Do you guys actually know Ladybug and Chat Noir? Wait, are you supposed to be the other heroes?” As he spoke, some of the other teens startled looking through their stock of comic books.

Nathaniel couldn’t hide his smile. It was one thing to see positive comments and reviews on their comic books, but it was another to see fans in person, gushing about how much they liked the product of his and Marc’s hard work. It made everything just seem . . . _ real. _

“We don’t know them personally, but they’ve told us that they like our work! And yeah, Mightillustrator’s based on Nath and Reverser’s based on me.” Marc explained. It wasn’t exactly a secret that the fictional heroes were based on the boys, nor had their akuma forms been a secret (especially since Reverser had been on camera). But it was still cool to see the boy making the connection, glancing between Nathaniel and Marc, and then nodding. 

“Oh, so are you guys dating, too?”

“We are!” Nathaniel told him, pausing his search for the third issue, which one of the other teens was looking for. “Marc’s my amazing boyfriend, and we wanted the comic series to reflect that.”

The girl that Nathaniel had been helping nodded. “That’s awesome. I kind of always knew that Reverser and Mightillustrator were going to be a couple. They just had a certain chemistry, you know?”

“You’re not the first to say that.” Nathaniel said, handing her the comic. She gave him money in return, which he promptly placed in their cash box. “I swear, half of our readers knew we were supposed to be together before we did.”

She laughed. “They just worked well together, that’s all. Thanks for the comic!”

“It was cool to meet you!” the other boy called as the whole group walked away.

As the crowd thinned around their table for a moment, Marc turned back to Nathaniel, his lips forming a small but noticeable smile. “That was nice. It wasn’t too scary, and I like getting to see fans in person.”

“Me too!” Nathaniel agreed, walking over to wrap his arms around Marc’s shoulders. The writer gladly accepted the hug, quickly returning the sentiment before stepping back to smile at his boyfriend. “And there’s no one I’d rather do this with than you.”

“Same here. Oh, there’s some people heading this way.”

And as the crowd around their table got bigger, the boys laughed and chatted with old fans and new fans alike, enjoying every moment of their first convention day. Sure, it was long and tiring, but even by the end, when the only people left were those cleaning up their own tables, the comic book duo was happy.

They’d done it. They’d completed their goal of making a successful comic book and sharing their artistic vision with as many people as they could.

Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun challenge for this month! Thanks to everyone who read these or left a comment, I can't express how much I appreciate it!


End file.
